Fabrication strategies of Ni-based catalysts in reforming of biomass tar/tar model compounds

Tar formation is an urgent issue during syngas production from biomass gasification, and the application of advanced catalysts has been proved to be an effective method for tar elimination. Among the existed catalysts, Ni-based catalysts are the commonly used catalysts for tar removal because of their low cost and high activity in tar conversion. In the last decades, there have tremendous literatures reported the preparation and modification of Ni-based catalysts and then used for biomass tar reforming. However, these are lacking a comprehensive review in the fabrication of Ni-based catalysts, and the rational design for the active Ni-based catalyst is crucial to promote the industrialization of gasification technology. Based on these, this paper aims to understand the key properties of Ni-based catalysts in biomass tar reforming and unravel the fabrication strategies for the catalyst design. For instance, morphology tailoring, Ni particle size optimizing, defects engineering, regulation of metal -support interaction, and synergistic effect tuning of Ni-based catalysts for the reforming of biomass tar and tar model compounds are discussed. Besides, the existed challenges and future direction in optimization of Ni-based catalysts are also highlighted.