The present work explores the preparation of fayalite α‐Fe2SiO4, the iron‐rich end‐member of the olivine solid‐solution series, as a tar removal catalyst for biomass gasification. The synthetic procedure was developed starting from the stoichiometric mixture of hematite and micrometer size silicon carbide and employing thermal treatments in controlled atmospheres at 1000‐1100°C supported by thermodynamic modeling to assess the required redox conditions. The treatments in dry and humidified inert gas yielded phase mixtures containing metallic Fe as one of the main phases, thus emphasizing a shortage of oxygen supply. XRD and TGA studies of precursor mixtures on heating in dry CO2 demonstrated a multistep mechanism of the overall reaction including (a) fast reactivity between silicon carbide and hematite at ~920°C with formation of metallic Fe and amorphous silica followed by (b) formation of fayalite involving oxygen supplied in the form of CO2 and competing with (c) over‐oxidation to thermodynamically favorable Fe3O4+SiO2 mixture. Comparative studies of reactivity in powdered and pelletized samples emphasized the importance of the kinetic factor in the formation of Fe2SiO4 while preventing further oxidation. The preferential formation of fayalite in the CO2 atmosphere is shown to be favored by shorter treatments of compacted samples at higher temperatures. The procedure was designed (2‐step heating to 1100°C in CO2 followed by fast cooling) for the preparation of pelletized fayalite α‐Fe2SiO4 catalyst with only minor traces of surface over‐oxidation which can be suppressed by adding 10 vol.% of forming gas to CO2 flow.

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Single‐phase cerium aluminate was synthesized from mixtures of ceria and metallic aluminum by milling and firing under controlled conditions in reducing (10%H2 + 90%N2) or inert atmospheres (N2 or CO2). Firing in an inert atmosphere (CO2) did not yield conversion to cerium aluminate, and conversion was also low after firing in reducing conditions (10%H2 + 90%N2) and only improved slightly on changing from powder mixtures with coarse Al powder (15 µm) to mixtures with submicron Al (0.77 µm). High‐energy milling promoted reactivity by the combined effects of improved homogeneity, decreasing grain size of the Al precursor, increase in lattice strain and decrease in crystallite size down to 40–50 nm. Extensive oxidation of the metallic Al precursor after long‐term milling prevented complete conversion to cerium aluminate even after firing under reducing conditions at temperatures up to 1400°C. Thermodynamic modeling of the Al–Ce–O system provided interpretation for differences between firing in reducing and inert atmospheres. Controlled milling time hinders oxidation of Al to the poorly reactive α‐Al2O3 polymorph. This was supported by thermogravimetry after controlled milling and yielded phase pure CeAlO3 at T ≥ 1200°C. The high conversion was achieved even by firing at 1100°C under an inert atmosphere.