Dry reforming of ethanol over supported Ni catalysts prepared by impregnation with methanolic solution

Nickel catalysts were prepared on single-oxide supports of Al2O3, CeO2, MgO and ZrO2 by impregnation of the oxide with a solution of Ni(NO3)2 in methanol. The catalysts were characterized by N2 physisorption (BET method), TPR, XRD, SEM and Raman spectroscopy and tested in dry reforming of ethanol (DRE). It was observed that the interaction with the support and Ni reducibility depended on the support used. According to TPR results, NiO species supported on CeO2 and Al2O3 were the easiest to reduce. Possibly, this behavior combined to redox properties of CeO2 inhibited side undesirable reactions and contributed to the higher selectivity for H2 on the NiCe catalyst. The catalytic test at 750 °C on NiCe showed better H2 selectivity than the test at 700 °C, suggesting that the higher temperature enhanced CO2 conversion and hindered carbon deposition in dry reforming of ethanol reactions.