Systematic experimental study for optimized hydrogen production of Ni/CeO 2 prepared by incipient wetness impregnation technique

In this present work, different supports (CeO2/ZrO2) and different Ni contents based catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation method and tested in the methane steam reforming (MSR) reaction. The prepared catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The XRD analysis confirmed the prepared Ni/CeO2 samples have a pure crystal structure. In the catalytic tests, the effects of reactivity temperature, different support, Ni loading content and the gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) on hydrogen production performance were investigated systematically. The results showed that the optimal reaction conditions for MSR by Ni/CeO2 catalyst were as follows: 10 wt % Ni/CeO2, 750oC, 1500 h−1. The stability test for 12 h at 750oC indicated that the chosen Ni/CeO2 catalyst had excellent thermal stability.