Effect of Ce and Cu promoters on activity of Ni/SBA-16 catalysts in ‎partial oxidation of methane to syngas

Effect of Ce promoter on the catalytic performance of Ni/SBA-16 for partial oxidation of methane was investigated. Ni/SBA-16 Catalyst with ceria promoter were prepared by the impregnation method and employed in partial oxidation of methane (POM). The textural properties of prepared catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption and XRD techniques. The catalytic performance of samples was evaluated in a micro reactor and conversion of CH4 in the temperature range of 700 to 850◦C was obtained. The obtained results showed that the methane conversion didn’t change with the addition of ceria at the ration of Ni/Ce of 1/1. However, the addition of Cu to Ni/SBA-16 resulted in the reduced methane conversion at the same ratio of Ni/Cu. Furthermore, comparison of methane conversion on the SBA-16 supported catalysts with the similar catalysts supported on SBA-15 published in the literature indicated superior performance of SBA-16 as a catalyst support in catalytic partial oxidation of methane.