Low metal content Co and Ni alumina supported catalysts for the CO2 reforming of methane

Low metal content Co and Ni alumina supported catalysts (4.0, 2.5 and 1.0 wt% nominal metal content) have been prepared, characterized (by ICP-OES, TEM, TPR-H2 and TPO) and tested for the CO2 reforming of methane. The objective is to optimize the metal loading in order to have a more efficient system. The selected reaction temperature is 973 K, although some tests at higher reaction temperature have been also performed. The results show that the amount of deposited carbon is noticeably lower than that obtained with the Co and Ni reference catalysts (9 wt%), but the CH4 and CO2 conversions are also lower. Among the catalysts tested, the Co(1) catalyst (the value in brackets corresponds to the nominal wt% loading) is deactivated during the first minutes of reaction because CoAl2O4 is formed, while Ni(1) and Co(2.5) catalysts show a high specific activity for methane conversion, a high stability and a very low carbon deposition.

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► Low metal content Co/Al2O3 and Ni/Al2O3 catalysts are active for CH4/CO2 reforming.
► Co(2.5), Ni(1) and Ni(2.5) catalysts show high specific activity.
► The Co(1) catalyst is deactivated by CoAl2O4 formation during reaction.
► The Ni(1) catalyst is very active and stable during a 24 h reaction test at 1073 K.