High tar conversion performance of a Ni—Fe—MgO catalyst

A method of making a catalyst comprising a substrate support and an active catalyst component including nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), and magnesium oxide (MgO), wherein the active catalyst component comprises from about 40 to about 50 wt % Ni, from about 15 to about 25 wt % Fe, and from about 30 to about 40 wt % MgO, said method comprising:

• (a) mixing nickel nitrate, iron nitrate, and magnesium nitrate in a solvent;
• (b) combining the solution of step (a) with a substrate support to form a mixture;
• (c) maintaining the mixture of step (b) at a first temperature (T1) for a first duration of time (t1);
• (d) increasing the temperature of the mixture in step (c) to a second temperature (T2) and maintaining T2 for a second duration of time (t2), wherein the increasing of the temperature is performed at a first rate of increase (R1);
• and
• (e) calcining the mixture of step (d) by increasing the temperature of the mixture of step (d) to a third temperature (T3) and maintaining T3 for a third duration of time (t3), wherein the increasing of the temperature is performed at a second rate of increase (R2),
• wherein
• T1 is about 15° C. to about 30° C. and t1 is 1 to 12 hours;
• T2 is about 80° C. to about 120° C. and t2 is 12 to 15 hours;
• T3 is about 600° C. to about 1000° C. and t3 is 12 to about 15 hours;
• R1 is about 1° C./minute to about 15° C./minute;
• and
• R2 is 50° C./30 minutes to about 100° C./30 minutes;
• thereby forming a nickel-iron-magnesium oxide catalyst comprising a substrate support and an active catalyst component, wherein the active catalyst component comprises from about 40 to 50 wt % Ni, from about 15 to 25 wt % Fe, and from about 30to 40 wt % MgO.