Catalyst performance in reforming of tar derived from biomass over noble metal catalysts

An activity test in the reforming of tar derived from cedar biomass over M-CeO2-SiO2 (M = Rh, Pt, Pd, Ru, Ni) was carried out in a secondary fluidized catalyst bed at lower temperature range (823-923 K) than the conventional methods. We have measured the formation rate of CO, CO2, CH4, H-2, and the yield of coke deposited on the catalyst surface and the yield of char accumulated in the primary bed. It was found that Rh-CeO2-SiO2 exhibited much higher performance than other metal catalysts in terms of the activity of tar reforming, and the yield of gas and coke.