Syngas Production via CO2 Reforming of Methane over Aluminum-Promoted NiO-10Al2O3-ZrO2 Catalyst.

CO2 reforming of methane was studied at medium temperature (700 °C) using a GSHV of 48,000 h-1 over nickel catalysts supported on ZrO2 promoted by alumina. The catalysts were prepared by a one-step synthesis method and characterized by BET, H2-TPR, XRD, XPS, TEM, Raman spectroscopy, and TGA. The NiO-10Al2O3-ZrO2 catalyst exhibited higher catalytic performance in comparison with the NiO-ZrO2 catalyst. The enhancement of catalytic activity in dry reforming could be associated with the alterations in surface properties due to Al promotion. First, the Al promoter could modify the structure of ZrO2, leading to an increase of its pore volume and pore diameter. Second, the NiO-10Al2O3-ZrO2 catalyst exhibited high resistance to sintering. Third, the NiO-10Al2O3-ZrO2 catalyst showed high suppression to the loss of nickel during a long-term catalytic test. Finally, the addition of Al could inhibit the reduction of ZrO2 during the reduction and reaction, endowing further the stability.