Catalyst performance in reforming of tar derived from biomass over noble metal catalysts

An activity test in the reforming of tar derived from cedar biomass over M–CeO2–SiO2 (M = Rh, Pt, Pd, Ru, Ni) was carried out in a secondary fluidized catalyst bed at lower temperature range (823–923 K) than the conventional methods. We have measured the formation rate of CO, CO2, CH4, H2, and the yield of coke deposited on the catalyst surface and the yield of char accumulated in the primary bed. It was found that Rh–CeO2–SiO2 exhibited much higher performance than other metal catalysts in terms of the activity of tar reforming, and the yield of gas and coke.