Partial oxidation of methane on Ni/CeO2-ZrO2/γ-Al2O3 prepared using different processes

The influences of CeO2-ZrO2 and γ-Al2O3 mixing methods on the catalytic activity and stability of partial oxidation of methane (POM) were investigated over Ni/Ce0.7Zr0.3O2-Al2O3 catalysts. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, TPR, H2-chemsorption, and TG-DTA. For fresh catalysts, the results showed that the salt precursor mixing catalyst (ATOM) presented better performance than the catalysts prepared by the precipitator mixing method (MOL) and the powder mechanically mixing method (MECH). The result of XRD suggested that the interaction between CeO2-ZrO2 and Al2O3 in ATOM sample was stronger than the others, which led to more lattice defects and thereby better initial activity. Moreover, the MECH sample had the best stability and the least coke deposition in 24 h stability tests. The results of TPR and H2-chemsorption indicated that the intimate contact of Ni-Al in MECH sample enhanced the ability of resisting coke deposition and metal sintering.