Comparative evaluation of Ru-coated fecralloy and SiC monolithic catalysts in catalytic partial oxidation of natural gas for hydrogen production

•Fecralloy and SiC monoliths coated with Ru/Mg-Al oxide were prepared by deposition–precipitation.•The structured catalysts had GSAs 1.5 to 4 times larger than those of conventional pellet catalyst.•Structured catalysts showed a higher CH4 conversion than the pellet even with a Ru loading amount less than 1/10.•Damage and degradation of catalyst coated on Fecralloy monolith occurred at >700 °C.•SiC monolith catalyst was stable for more than 20 h in extreme exothermic reaction (>700 °C)