CO2 reforming of CH4 over ceria-supported metal catalysts

CO2 reforming of CH4 was studied over Fe, Co and Ni catalysts supported on cerium oxide at atmospheric pressure. Ni catalyst gave the highest activity; equilibrium conversion of methane was attained under the conditions of 1123 K, 1 g h/mol, and CO2/CH4 = 1, and the composition of syngas formed was almost H-2/CO = 1. Carbon deposition was not observed, and the catalytic activity and the syngas selectivity were stable for 24h over the catalyst. It was found that the high temperature treatment of the catalyst at 1123 K is important for such an excellent catalytic performance. Co catalyst exhibited an activity nearly equal to that of Ni catalyst when reduced sufficiently, whereas Fe catalyst showed a poor activity. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.