Synthesis Gas conversion via dry reforming of methane (DR) is a promising alternative to the common methods steam reforming or partial oxidation. DR offers several advantages: conversion of 2 greenhouse gases: CH4 and CO2, utilization of biogas and natural gas are possible. The molar ratio H2/CO = 1 is desired for different downstream processes. Therefore we synthesized, characterized and catalytically tested NiO-MgO-ZrO2 catalysts. 2‑34 mol‑% Ni and Mg were brought onto ZrO2 via melt-impregnation. After reduction, the catalysts where applied in DR (atmospheric pressure, 1123 K, n(CH4)/n(CO2) = 1) for 15 h. The product gas was continuously analyzed by on-line IR-/UV-spectroscopy. The synthesized catalysts are highly active in DR. A relationship between Ni and Mg loading and the methane conversion, which reaches up to the thermodynamic equilibrium can be seen. Over 15 h TOS the samples did not show deactivation, still applying TPO, carbon depositions were found on all samples. While the amount of deposited carbon was negligible for Ni loadings &lt; 20 mol­‑%, the deposition became significant for higher loadings. The larger the amount of active component, the more favored is metal sintering enhancing the catalysts tendency to deposit carbon. Therefore, the tested catalysts can be categorized into three groups: (I) highly active in DR but reduced stability, (II) highly active in DR and stable, and (III) less active in DR but highly stable. We found that there is a certain limit of Ni and Mg loading that should be applied in this NiO‑MgO‑ZrO2 system: the highest activity and stability was found for the samples containing 18-24 mol-% Ni and Mg relative to Zr. Until a certain level (22 mol.‑% active component), MgO seems to be able to suppress carbon formation, even though no NiO-MgO solid-solution can be found on spent samples.

Dry reforming of methane on NiO-MgO-ZrO2 catalyst

249th National Meeting (2015)

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