The role of CeO2–ZrO2 distribution on the Ni/MgAl2O4 catalyst during the combined steam and CO2 reforming of methane

Abstract

The effect of the distribution of CeO2–ZrO2 on Ni/MgAl2O4 catalyst on the catalytic performance during the combined steam and carbon dioxide reforming of CH4 (CSCR) was investigated on two different catalysts prepared using a sequential impregnation and co-precipitation of Ni and CeO2–ZrO2 components. The CeO2–ZrO2 plays an important role in the CO2 conversion by enhancing a facile activation of CO2 with an adjacent contact with nickel crystallites. The CSCR catalysts prepared by the co-precipitation of nickel and CeO2–ZrO2 on MgAl2O4 support shows a catalytic activity superior to the catalyst prepared by sequential impregnation of nickel on the MgAl2O4 support with CeO2–ZrO2 due to the homogeneous distribution of CeO2–ZrO2 with the formation of small nickel crystallites and a large amount of active sites for CO2 adsorption.