The kinetics of methane steam reforming over a Ru/ZrO2 catalyst was studied at 1.3 bar total pressure and in the temperature range 425-575 degrees C. These data were fitted by combining a reactor model with a series of kinetic models. The best fit was obtained by a model with methane dissociative adsorption as the rate limiting step and with CO and H adspecies partly blocking the active sites. The Ru/ZrO2 catalyst was characterized by TEM and H-2 chemisorption. By comparison of ex situ and in situ TEM, it is evident that Ru particles with diameters of <2 nm are difficult to observe with ex situ TEM due to oxidation when exposed to air. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.