Effect of Rh loading on the performance of Rh/Al 2O 3 for methane partial oxidation to synthesis gas

Abstract

Catalytic performance for partial oxidation of methane (POM) to synthesis gas was studied over the Rh/Al 2O 3 catalysts with Rh loadings between 0.1 and 3 wt%. It was found that the ignition temperature of POM reaction increased with the decreasing of the Rh loadings in the catalysts. For the POM reaction over the catalysts with high (≥1 wt%) Rh loadings, steady-state reactivity was observed. For the reaction over the catalysts with low (≤0.25 wt%) Rh loadings, however, oscillations in CH 4 and reaction products (CO, H 2, and CO 2) were observed. Comparative studies using H 2-TPR, O 2-TPD and high temperature in situ Raman spectroscopy techniques were carried out in order to elucidate the relation between the redox property of the Rh species in the Rh/Al 2O 3 with different Rh loadings and the performance of the catalysts for the reaction. Three kinds of oxidized rhodium species, i.e. the rhodium oxide species insignificantly affected by the support (RhO x ), that intimately interacting with the Al 2O 3 surface (Rh i O x ) and the Rh(AlO 2) y species formed by diffusion of rhodium oxides in to sublayers of Al 2O 3 [C.P. Hwang, C.T. Yeh, Q.M. Zhu, Catal. Today, 51 (1999) 93.], were identified by H 2-TPR and O 2-TPD experiments. Among them, the first two species can be easily reduced by H 2 at temperature below 350 °C, while the last one can only be reduced by H 2 at temperature above 500 °C. The ignition temperatures of POM reaction over the catalysts are closely related to the temperature at which most of the RhO x and Rh i O x species can be reduced by CH 4 in the reaction mixture. Compared to the Rh/Al 2O 3 with high Rh loadings, the catalysts with low Rh loadings contain more Rh i O x species which possess stronger Rh O bond strength and are more difficult to be reduced than RhO x by the reaction mixture. Higher temperature is therefore required to ignite the POM reaction over the catalysts with lower Rh loadings. The oscillation during the POM reaction over the Rh/Al 2O 3 with low Rh loadings can be related to the behaviour of Rh(AlO 2) y species in the catalyst switching cyclically from the oxidized state to the reduced state during the reaction.