Tri-reforming of coal bed methane to syngas over the Ni-Mg-ZrO₂ catalyst

Ni-ZrO₂ and Ni-Mg-ZrO₂ catalysts were prepared by a co-precipitation method, and then were characterized by BET, XRD, H₂-TPR and CO₂-TPD techniques. The performances of catalysts in the tri-reforming of coal bed methane to syngas were studied in a fixed bed reactor. The reaction conditions (temperature and feed gas composition) were mainly investigated. The results showed that at t=800℃, atmospheric pressure, CH₄/CO₂/H₂O/O₂/N₂=1.0/0.45/0.45/0.1/0.4, GHSV=30 000 mL/(g·h), about 99% of CH₄ conversion, 65% of CO₂ conversion, and V_H2/V_CO of 1.5 could be achieved during 58 h of reaction, which are related to the strong metal-support interaction, the good thermal stability and basic nature of the catalyst. Furthermore, high temperature favors the tri-reforming of methane. By adjusting the feed gas composition, a specific V_H2/V_CO could be achieved.