Study of Ni/ZrO2 and Ni/SiO2 Catalysts in the CO Methanation Reaction

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEM) converts the chemical energy of hydrogen, into electricity. One of the challenges for development of this technology is the sensitivity of the PEM cell's Pt electrocatalysts when exposed to CO (contaminant of the hydrogen generated in steam reforming reactions). In this work, catalysts based on Ni, Zr and Si were synthesized by different methods. The oxidized materials were characterized by N-2 physisorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), cyclohexane dehydrogenation reaction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Temperature Programmed Reduction (TPR). Moreover, tests of CO methanation were performed and reaction rates were calculated for the selection of the most active catalyst in this reaction. The supported catalysts were the most active in CO methanation. Among all the Ni/ZrO2 was 20 times more active than the reference catalyst (Ni/SiO2). It was observed that the metal area available is not the key factor to justify the best catalytic performance Ni/ZrO2.