Effect of ionic liquid in Ni/ZrO2 catalysts applied to syngas production by methane tri-reforming

This study investigates the influence of ionic liquid in morphology, acid-base properties, metal dispersion and performance of 5%Ni/ZrO₂ catalysts in the methane tri-reforming reaction. Zirconia was prepared by precipitation and the catalysts by wet impregnation. The ionic liquid modified the acid and basic character of the catalysts and positively influenced the methane tri-reforming reaction efficiency. The reaction was evaluated with synthetic biogas and with stoichiometric feed molar ratio (CH₄: CO₂: H₂O: O₂ = 1:0.5:0.5:0.1 and CH₄: CO₂: H₂O: O₂ = 1:0.33:0.33:0.16). The Ni/ZrO₂ prepared with ionic liquid exhibits promising catalytic activity and stability in methane tri-reforming at 800 °C in 4 h run, without coke formation. An increase in the reaction temperature results in an increase of hydrogen yield and the methane conversion, reaching ∼85% at 850 °C. The presented results demonstrate that the tri-reforming reaction could be used for production of syngas with H₂/CO ratio appropriate for methanol synthesis.