Ni-based catalysts
dispersed on different supports (MgO-α-Al
2
O
3
, CeO
2
, SBA-15, and MgO-SBA-15) were
prepared by the impregnation method. Characteristics of the catalysts,
including specific surface areas (N
2
physisorption), crystalline
phase compositions (powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy),
reducibility (hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction, H
2
-TPR), and morphology (scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission
electron microscopy, TEM)) were investigated. The activity and stability
of the catalysts were tested for the combined steam and CO
2
reforming of methane at 700 °C in a microflow system. The results
show that the catalysts exhibit high activity in the BRM reaction.
At 700 °C, the conversion of CH
4
and CO
2
reached 86–99% and 67–80%, respectively, in which
the Ni/Mg–SBA catalyst is the best with conversions of CH
4
and CO
2
reaching 99% and 80%. Coke accumulation
on the surface of the catalysts for 100 h time on stream (TOS) was
evaluated by the temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO) technique.
The major cause of the catalytic deactivation was elucidated by combining
the determination of the amount and type of deposited coke with the
changes in the physicochemical properties of the catalysts after the
long-term reaction. Almost complete loss of activity was observed
on Ni/Mg–Al catalyst after 100 h TOS, while the activity drop
was slow on the Ni/Mg–SBA sample, about 15–20% of the
total value. Otherwise, the Ni/CeO
2
and Ni/SBA catalysts
firmly retained their stable activity for 100 h TOS due to the minimal
carbon deposition and stability of these catalysts’ structure.
The highly considerable formation of inert C
γ
carbon
and sintering over Ni catalyst supported on MgO-α-Al
2
O
3
were responsible for the lower stability of this catalyst
compared to those supported on CeO
2
and SBA-15.