Effect of ZrO₂ on Catalyst Structure and Catalytic Sulfur-Resistant Methanation Performance of MoO₃/ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ Catalysts

A series of MoO₃/ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ catalysts was prepared and investigated in the sulfur-resistant methanation aimed at production of synthetic natural gas. Different methods including impregnation, deposition precipitation, and co-precipitation were used for preparing ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ composite supports. These composite supports and their corresponding Mo-based catalysts were investigated in the sulfur-resistant methanation, and characterized by N₂ adsorption–desorption, XRD and H₂-TPR. The results indicated that adding ZrO₂ promoted MoO3dispersion and decreased the interaction between Mo species and support in the MoO₃/ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ catalysts. The co-precipitation method was favorable for obtaining smaller ZrO₂ particle size and improving textural properties of support, such as better MoO₃ dispersion and increased concentration of Mo⁶⁺ species in octahedral coordination to oxygen. It was found that the MoO₃/ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ catalyst with ZrO₂Al₂O₃ composite support prepared by co-precipitation method exhibited the best catalytic activity. The ZrO₂ content in the ZrO₂Al₂O₃ composite support was further optimized. The MoO₃/ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ with 15 wt % ZrO₂ loading exhibited the highest sulfur-resistant CO methanation activity, and excess ZrO₂ reduced the specific surface area and enhanced the interaction between Mo species and support. The N₂ adsorption-desorption results indicated that the presence of ZrO₂ in excessive amounts decreased the specific surface area since some amounts of ZrO₂ form aggregates on the surface of the support. The XRD and H₂-TPR results showed that with the increasing ZrO₂ content, ZrO₂ particle size increased. These led to the formation of coordinated tetrahedrally Mo⁶⁺(T) species and crystalline MoO₃, and this development was unfavorable for improving the sulfur-resistant methanation performance of MoO₃/ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ catalyst.