Abstract
Methane Dry Reforming is one of the means of producing syngas. CeNi
0.9
Zr
0.1
O
3
catalyst and its modification with yttrium were investigated for CO
2
reforming of methane. The experiment was performed at 800 °C to examine the effect of yttrium loading on catalyst activity, stability, and H
2
/CO ratio. The catalyst activity increased with an increase in yttrium loading with CeNi
0.9
Zr
0.01
Y
0.09
O
3
catalyst demonstrating the best activity with CH
4
conversion >85% and CO
2
conversion >90% while the stability increased with increases in zirconium loading. The specific surface area of samples ranged from 1–9 m
2
/g with a pore size of 12–29 nm. The samples all showed type IV isotherms. The XRD peaks confirmed the formation of a monoclinic phase of zirconium and the well-crystallized structure of the perovskite catalyst. The Temperature Program Reduction analysis (TPR) showed a peak at low-temperature region for the yttrium doped catalyst while the un-modified perovskite catalyst (CeNi
0.9
Zr
0.1
O
3
) showed a slight shift to a moderate temperature region in the TPR profile. The Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) curve showed a weight loss step in the range of 500–700 °C, with CeNi
0.9
Zr
0.1
O
3
having the least carbon with a weight loss of 20%.