The Effect of Y at Ni-YSZ Catalysts for the Application to the Process of Methane Chemical-Looping Reforming

>> Nickel based oxygen transfer materials supported on two different YSZs were tested to evaluate their performance in methane chemical-looping reforming. The oxygen transfer materials of YSZs were selected with different amount of the doped yittrium in the ZrO2 structure. The yittrium of 8 mol% stabilized the zirconia oxide to a cubic structure compare to the 3 mol% doping, which is known to be a good for oxygen transfer. Various nickel amounts (16wt.%, 32wt.%, 48wt.%) were loaded on the selected supports. The nickel amount of 32% shows the optimized catalyst structure with good physical properties and reducibility from the XRD, BET and H2-TPR analysis, especially when the support of 8YSZ was used. From the methane chemical-looping reforming, hydrogen was produced by methane decomposition catalyzed by Ni on both YSZs. Comparing two YSZ supports of 3YSZ and 8YSZ during the cycling tests, the catalyst with 8YSZ (Ni 32%) exhibits not only the higher methane conversion and hydrogen production but also a faster reaction rate reaching to the stable point.