Dry Reforming of Methane with Suppressed Carbon Deposition over Cr- and Ni-Loaded Dealuminated β Zeolites

Dry reforming of methane (DRM) is an endothermic reaction that consumes energy during operation. In Ni-based catalysts, carbon produced by side reactions leads to catalyst deactivation and damage to the reactor tube. We have developed a catalyst that maintains its activity and suppresses carbon deposition at a low temperature (873 K). New catalysts were synthesized by loading Cr and Ni onto dealuminated β zeolites. The peak shifts in the X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements suggested that the introduced Cr and Ni species interacted with the zeolite framework. UV–vis spectra showed that the loaded Cr interacted with the zeolite was present as Cr6+. The synthesized catalysts were applied to the DRM reaction. As a result, the Cr-loaded catalysts had lower carbon deposition than only the Ni-loaded catalyst. The Cr species mainly contributed to the suppression of the methane decomposition reaction, leading to a much lower coke deposition and a more selective DRM reaction. This study provides a new strategy for catalyst design to suppress coke deposition and selective DRM reactions.