CO2 reforming of methane over modified Ni/ZrO2 catalysts

CO2 reforming of methane was performed over two series of modified Ni/ZrO2 catalysts having high nickel contents. One is the modification of zirconia with lanthanum-, cerium- or manganese-oxide. Among them, Ni/La-ZrO2 exhibited the highest activity and good stability, whereas Ni/Ce-ZrO2 and Ni/Mn-ZrO2 gave low carbon formation during the reaction. The other modified catalysts were prepared by adding basic oxides to the nickel side. Ni-Mg/ZrO2 exhibited the best activity and stability, wherein a magnesium promoter is attributed to increasing the dispersion of nickel and enhancing the interaction between CO2 and the catalyst during the CO2 reforming, Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.