Partial oxidation of methane to syngas over Ni/SiC catalysts

The partial oxidation of methane into syngas over Ni/SiC catalysts was investigated in a fixed-bed quartz reactor. The results indicated that the 10 wt% Ni/SiC catalyst had high activity and stability, and the high temperature was beneficial to the reaction. The deactivation of the catalysts was due to carbon deposition over nickel active sites. The further characterizations revealed that the deposit over nickel particles was mainly composed of tubular and amorphous carbon. The Ni/SiC catalysts could be directly used in the reaction without beforehand pre-reduction. Moreover the deactivated catalyst was easily regenerated through burning carbon in air, and the regenerated catalyst showed catalytic activity as high as their fresh state.