Dry reforming of methane over embedded Ni nanoparticles in CeZrO 2: Effect of Ce/Zr ratio and H 2 O addition

Biogas has emerged as renewable source of CH 4 towards energy decarbonization in recent years. Among the biogas valorization routes, the dry reforming of methane (DRM) process is particularly interesting for H 2 production. However, the development of new catalysts with high metal dispersion and coke resistance is a significant challenge, particularly under industrial condition. Therefore, this work studies the performance of Ni@Ce x Zr 1-x O 2 catalysts with different Ce/Zr molar ratios for the dry reforming and bi-reforming of methane reactions. The addition of Zr promotes the Ni dispersion and the oxygen mobility of the support, leading to enhanced resistance to coke formation. Additionally, H 2 O suppresses coke formation under high CH 4 /CO 2 molar ratio, but catalyst deactivation is still observed. Finally, an optimal Ce/Zr molar ratio (i.e., 4.0) is achieved, demonstrating remarkable resistance to coke formation and high CH 4 and CO 2 conversion rates through the control of Ni particle size and the promotion of oxygen mobility.