Catalytic performance of CeO2 and ZrO2 supported Co catalysts for hydrogen production via dry reforming of methane

•Production of H2 was studied over nano ceria and zirconia supported Co catalysts.•Calcination temperature and type of support have strong influence on H2 yield.•BET surface areas of catalysts decreased with calcination temperature.•Catalysts calcined at lower temperatures showed better activity.

Increasing attention has been devoted to hydrogen production as a source of clean energy that is friendly to the atmosphere. Dry reforming process provides an excellent means for producing hydrogen as well as mitigating CO2 and CH4, greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Catalyst activity and stability depend on the support, active metal and methods of pretreatment. In the present work, the effect of calcination temperature on hydrogen production using cobalt supported over nano-sized ceria and zirconia catalysts was investigated. The catalysts were prepared by the wet impregnation method at different calcination temperatures (i.e., 500, 600, 700, 800 and 900 °C). BET, TGA, XRD, TPO, TPR and TEM techniques were used to characterize the prepared catalysts. The results revealed that the catalysts calcined at 500 and 600 °C exhibited better activity and higher hydrogen production than those calcined at higher temperatures. The hydrogen yields, for Co/ZrO2 and Co/CeO2 catalysts, calcined at 500 °C and 600 °C, were 75.8% & 71.4% and 59.4% & 57.5% respectively.