Enhanced stability of CaO and/or La2O3 promoted Pd/Al2O3 egg-shell catalysts in partial oxidation of methane to syngas.

An egg-shell Pd/Al2O3 catalyst showed higher activity than a regular Pd/Al2O3 catalyst in the partial oxidation of methane to syngas, but a common problem of this reaction is the catalyst deactivation on stream. We attempted to modify the egg-shell catalyst via impregnation with some metal oxide additives. Although the addition of MgO did not show any beneficial effect, the addition of CaO and/or La2O3 significantly improved the stability due to the suppression of carbon deposition and phase transformation of the Al2O3 support. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption-desorption, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).