This work is devoted to the investigation of the effect of alkali and alkaline earth metals addition on Ni/ZrO₂ catalyst activity in high-temperature cellulose conversion. The catalysts containing 20 % of Ni and 1 % of Ca, Mg, Na and K (calculated per amount of oxide) introduced on ZrO₂ surface by impregnation method were prepared. The surface properties of the investigated samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, temperature-programmed reduction, flame atomic absorption spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The composition of the gaseous products was identified using gas chromatography. The performed studies demonstrated that introduction of alkali and alkaline earth metals on the surface of nickel catalyst resulted in the considerable increase in the production of hydrogen in comparison with Ni/ZrO₂ reference sample. The highest hydrogen yield was formed in the presence of the catalyst modified by calcium.

This work aimed at the determination of the influence of various types of lignocellulosic biomass on the performance of Ni/ZrO₂ catalyst modified by CaO in the production of hydrogen rich gas from lignocellulosic feedstock. The catalysts were prepared by co-impregnation and sequential impregnation methods. The catalytic activity of the synthesized materials was examined in the high temperature conversion of cellulose (model compound) and real biomass samples—woodchips from pine, beech, birch and poplar. The surface properties of Ni/CaO–ZrO₂ catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF–SIMS), thermogravimetric analysis (TG–DTA–MS) and BET methods. The obtained results revealed that an incorporation of calcium into the structure of the catalyst led to a decrease in the coke formation rate on its surface. Moreover, the influence of the preparation method on the material composition and related properties was demonstrated.