Dry Reforming of Methane over Nickel‐Based Catalyst on Mg‐Stabilized Zirconia Support: A Pathway to Sustainable Syngas Production

Abstract The dry reforming of methane (DRM) is an essential process for converting methane (CH 4 ) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), both significant greenhouse gases, into syngas (mixture of H 2 and CO) with an H 2 /CO ratio of ∼1. This process faces the challenge of maintaining high catalytic activity and stability at moderate temperatures (∼600 °C) while preventing carbon deposition. In this study, the synthesis of magnesia‐stabilized zirconia (MSZ) is supported by a co‐precipitation method using varying magnesium percentages (8–14 mol%). The aim was to investigate the effect of these variations on Ni‐based catalysts for DRM. The catalysts were thoroughly characterized using X‐ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, BET, H 2 ‐TPR, CO 2 ‐TPD, XPS, and TGA techniques. Moreover, the addition of magnesium enhanced the thermal stability and oxygen storage capacity of the support while also improving metal dispersion and metal‐support interaction. Among all the analyzed catalysts, the 5Ni/14MSZ catalyst demonstrated the highest performance, achieving a 39% conversion of CH 4 and H 2 yield of 39% while maintaining a stable H 2 /CO ratio of approximately 1.2 over 4‐h time‐on‐stream at 600 °C. This enhanced performance is due to better Ni dispersion, stronger metal‐support interaction, and reduced carbon deposition. The 5Ni/14MSZ catalyst demonstrates significant promise for efficient and sustainable syngas production through DRM.