Exploring Hybrid Ni Catalysts on Doped-Ceria Supports for the Autothermal Reforming of Surrogate Liquid Fuel

Abstract

This PhD thesis investigates three supported nickel catalysts designed for undertaking autothermal reforming (ATR) of liquid hydrocarbons. The first catalytic system was the ceria-supported nickel phosphide (NixPy), in-situ generated from grains of nickel-phosphorous alloy deposited on a specific ceria support under the ATR conditions. The second catalytic system was developed initially from calcining a homogeneous metallo-organic gel, in which the formation of the two metal oxides (LaxCe1-xO2-m and NiO) took place simultaneously. As a result the NiO phase comprised of substantially dispersed domains that were embedded in LaxCe1-xO2-m. This special environment effectively protected the resulting Ni catalytic sites from deactivation. The third catalytic system combined doping the ceria support by Y3+ and hybridizing the Ni lattice with boron. These structural modifications strongly enhanced resilience of catalyst against poisoning attacks. These three catalytic systems displayed obviously enhanced resistance to coking and sulphur poisoning and their stabilization mechanisms were also investigated in the thesis.