Methane reforming and water splitting using zirconia-supported cerium oxide in a volumetric receiver–reactor with different types of foam devices

• CeO2/ZrO2 for stepwise production of syngas and hydrogen by a redox cycles.
• Three different foam devices of Ni, Cu, and SiC for CeO2/ZrO2 sample.
• Ni and Cu foam act as a catalyst for methane decomposition.
• CeO2/ZrO2 coated metallic foam is enhanced the gas yield productivity.

sSyngas and hydrogen production from CeO2/ZrO2-coated foam devices was investigated under simulated solar radiation. Three different types of foam devices were employed in order to find the effect of the physical properties of foam material on the cyclic reaction of methane reforming and water splitting. CeO2/ZrO2-coated SiC, Ni, and Cu foam were prepared using drop-coating method. The methane reforming was performed at 900 °C for 15–25 min, and the water splitting was performed at the same temperature for 45 min. In addition, the methane reforming and water splitting were repeated ten cycles to compare the CO and H2 yields in the methane reforming, and the H2 yield in the water splitting. Metallic foam such as Ni and Cu showed better production yield than SiC foam and ten cycles average conversion of CeO2 on the SiC, Ni and Cu foam were 54%, 74% and 65%, respectively. It is believed that the increased production yield of metallic foam was due to higher thermal conductivity of metallic foam and the partial reduction and re-oxidation of Ni and Cu foam.