Enhanced sulfur-resistant methanation performance over MoO3-ZrO2 catalyst prepared by solution combustion method

Sulfur-resistant methanation of syngas was studied over MoO3-ZrO2 catalysts at 400 degrees C. The MoO3-ZrO2 solid-solution catalysts were prepared using the solution combustion method by varying MoO3 content and temperature. The 15MoO(3)-ZrO2 catalyst achieved the highest methanation performance with CO conversion up to 80% at 400 degrees C. The structure of ZrO2 and dispersed MoO3 species was characterized using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The energy-dispersive spectrum of the 15MoO(3)-ZrO2 catalyst showed that the solution combustion method gave well-dispersed MoO3 particles on the surface of ZrO2. The structure of the catalysts depends on the Mo surface density. It was observed that in the 15MoO(3)-ZrO2 catalyst the Mo surface density of 4.2 Mo atoms nm(-2) approaches the theoretical monolayer capacity of 5 Mo atoms nm(-2). The addition of a small amount of MoO3 to ZrO2 led to higher tetragonal content of ZrO2 along with a reduction of particle size. This leads to an efficient catalyst for the low-temperature CO methanation process.