Combined methane reforming in presence of CO 2 and O 2 over LaFe 1− xCo xO 3 mixed-oxide perovskites as catalysts precursors

Abstract

The paper deals with the effect of modification with cobalt of a series of LaFe 1− x Co x O 3 mixed-oxide perovskites as catalyst precursors in the combined reforming of methane with CO 2 and O 2 for the production of syngas. The perovskite type oxides were synthesized by fine chemical using the citrate sol–gel method and characterized by techniques such as FT-IR, BET surface area, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), TPR and inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy (ICP), under the condition of as-synthesized, reduced and used samples. The results showed that through this synthesis it is possible to obtain highly crystalline, homogeneous and pure solids, with well-defined structures. After reduction, the stabilization by the presence of iron of highly dispersed Co metallic particles from the cation on position B over the corresponding oxides was evidenced, decreasing deactivation by avoiding the sintering of metals and coke formation on the surface of the catalysts. The existence of strong Fe–Co interaction in the LaFe 1− x Co x O 3 with x = 0.4–0.6 produces a synergetic effect improving methane conversion and H 2 production.