Comparative study on the promotion effect of Mn and Zr on the stability of Ni/SiO2 catalyst for CO2 reforming of methane

► Ni-Mn/SiO2 catalyst exhibited good stability for CH4 reforming of CO2. ► The addition of Mn decreased the reducibility of Ni-Mn/SiO2. ► Ni-Mn/SiO2 catalyst exhibited high ability of restraining carbon deposition. ► The activity of Ni-Zr/SiO2 catalyst decreased monotonically with time on stream. ► A large mounts of carbon deposited on Ni-Zr/SiO2 catalyst.