Lanthanum–chromium–nickel perovskites for the catalytic cracking of tar model compounds

In this work two perovskites (LaCr0.7Ni0.3O3 and LaCr0.5Ni0.5O3) were studied as possible catalysts for cracking of tar produced by pyrolysis and gasification of biomass and wastes. Naphthalene and n-hexadecane were chosen as model compounds for tar. The results were also compared with those ones obtained by testing the LaFe0.7Ni0.3O3 catalyst whose behavior was reported in the literature. The catalysts containing chromium are much more stable although less active than LaFe0.7Ni0.3O3; in all tests an almost constant conversion of the hydrocarbons was found. The tests were prolonged till 400 h. XRD analysis performed on the used samples showed that the perovskite structure was unchanged. The better stability was also confirmed by TPR tests.