Steam reforming of methane to hydrogen over Ni-based metal monolith catalysts

A series of Ni/SBA-15/Al2O3/FeCrAl metal monolith catalysts with different Ni contents (5 wt%, 10 wt% and 15 wt%) as well as 10% Ni/CexZr1−xO2/SBA-15/Al2O3/FeCrAl (x = 0, 0.5 and 1) metal monolith catalysts with CexZr1−xO2 of 1.7 wt% were prepared and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and temperature-programmed reduction (TPR). The catalytic activity and stability of these catalysts for steam reforming of methane (SRM) were evaluated in a continuous flow microreactor. The results showed that Ni/SBA-15/Al2O3/FeCrAl metal monolith catalysts with Ni loading above 10 wt% had good catalytic activities under atmospheric pressure. For 10% Ni/CexZr1−xO2/SBA-15/Al2O3/FeCrAl (x = 0, 0.5 and 1) metal monolith catalysts, CeO2 and Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 as promoters can improve the activity and stability of metal monolith catalysts, while the addition of ZrO2 can lead to the decrease of catalytic activity and stability. The 10% Ni/Ce0.5Zr0.5O2/SBA-15/Al2O3/FeCrAl metal monolith catalyst exhibited excellent activity and stability at 800 °C for 110 h on stream. The activity of 10% Ni/SBA-15/Al2O3/FeCrAl metal monolith catalyst gradually decreased at 800 °C after 60 h on stream. The reason for this phenomenon is probably the formation of NiAl2O4 on the surface of catalyst.