Promotional effects of cerium on catalytic carbon dioxide reforming of methane over ZSM-5 supported nickel

People are increasingly interested in CO2 reforming of CH 4 since the reaction can convert two cheap and abundant greenhouse gases (CH4 and CO2) to useful syngas (H2+CO). The major challenge of this highly endothermic reforming reaction is carbon deposition and sintering of catalyst, which results in catalyst deactivation and even the blockage of reactor flow path.;Ni-based catalysts are considered to be more industrially favorable for the application of CO2 reforming of CH4 reaction because of its ability in reducing the activation energy of the reaction, high availability and low cost; although it is more sensitive to coke formation than noble metals since it can catalyze carbon formation via methane decomposition and the Boudouard reaction.;Ni/ZSM-5 catalysts with Ce modification prepared via incipient wetness impregnation method and characterized with BET, XRD, and SEM techniques were used to overcome the challenge. Factorial tests were conducted to evaluate the effects of Ce on the catalytic reforming reaction. Experimental results show that Ce is an effective promoter for the reaction. It can not only improve the selectivity of H2 in syngas production but also suppress the carbon formation.