In this work, a novel microkinetic model for ethanol partial oxidation and reforming on platinum (Pt) is developed and validated with minimal parameter tuning against experimental data at short contact times. Mechanistic analysis of the surface chemistry indicates the presence of up to four reaction zones over the length of the catalyst, viz., (i) ethanol dehydration and oxidation, (ii) transition from ethanol oxidation to dry reforming, (iii) dry reforming of ethanol, and (iv) dry and steam reforming of methane. As the majority of the catalyst is dominated by dry reforming conditions, additional validation of the microkinetic model is carried out with methane dry reforming experiments on Pt/Al2O3. The proposed microkinetic model for ethanol partial oxidation and reforming is able to predict the dry reforming data without further adjustment of kinetic parameters. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.