Methane Steam Reforming on Supported Nickel, Effect of Nickel Content for Product Hydrogen

The steam reforming of methane over NiO/ZnO mixed oxides with different nickel contents was studied. Solids to x% Ni/ZnO (x = 4 and 10%) were deposited on ZnO by impregnation from nickel nitrate solution; after vaporization the solid is calcined at 500°C for 6 h. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and BET method, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and temperature programmed reduction (TPR). The XRD patterns revealed the NiO phase for all calcined catalysts. The chemical analysis confirmed the theoretical values of nickel. The catalysts were pre-treated under hydrogen at 500°C in situ, overnight before testing for the steam reforming of methane reaction (CH4/H2O/Ar = 10/10/80) in the temperature range (475°C - 650°C) under atmospheric pressure. The activities of both catalysts were investigated in a fixed-bed reactor for the Methane Steam Reforming (MSR) reaction. Globally, it was shown that the catalyst 10% nickel content has an important effect on the catalytic performances of solids i.e. the better results of hydrogen production were obtained with 10% wt. Ni/ZnO (28 ′ 10-3 mol/g catalyst).