Theoretical and Experimental Studies of the Partial Oxidation of Methane

I. HUARTE; M.GENOVEVA ZIMICZ; S.A. LARRONDO.

Acapulco

Congreso; International-Mexican Congress on Chemical Reaction Engineering; 2014

Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo

The catalytic partial oxidation of methane (CPOM) is one of the ways proposed to obtain Syngas from hydrocarbons. The incentive for the development of active and selective catalysts for this reaction resides in the possibility of using the Syngas as a raw material for the production of synthetic fuels by applying technologies Gas to Liquid (GTL), or as a fuel to be electro-oxidized in the anode of an Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (IT-SOFC). In the latter case, the catalyst obtained may be part of the formulation of the anode material thus allowing direct feeding of methane to the cell anode. The ability of CeO2 to store oxygen when exposed to oxidizing atmospheres and to deliver it in a reducing atmosphere, the stability of the fluorite structure under oxidation and reduction processes, and the electronic conductivity due to the presence of the redox couple Ce4+/Ce3+, have positioned CeO2-based materials as catalyst, promoter or both in a broad range of chemical reactions. Besides, these features make it also a very promising material for anode in IT- SOFC. In this paper the results of catalytic performance, morphological, textural and structural characterization of CeO2-Sm2O3 materials (SDC) impregnated with NiO are presented in the context of the search for new catalysts for the reaction to obtain Syngas by partial oxidation of methane. The results are compared with those previously reported for CeO2-ZrO2 based catalysts (ZDC)