Deactivation of a Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalyst in the partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas Original Research Article

The deactivation of a Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalyst used in an industrial plant for the partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas was investigated. Four samples at different time-on-stream in air were characterized and their catalytic performances were tested in a micro-reactor in order to shed light on the causes and the effects of this deactivation. The high temperatures (about 900 °C) reached while operating in the industrial plant, promoted modifications to the γ-Al2O3, inducing sintering phenomena and, therefore, deactivation effects. The not used sample showed good values of yield in syngas (compared with equilibrium values), but these performances decreased quickly with time-on-stream.