Hydrogen production from steam reforming of ethanol over Ni/MgO-CeO_2 catalyst at low temperature

MgO,CeO2 and MgO-CeO2 with different mole ratio of Mg:Ce were prepared by solid-phase burning method.Catalysts Ni/MgO,Ni/CeO2 and Ni/MgO-CeO2 were prepared by impregnation method.The catalytic properties were evaluated in ethanol steam reforming(ESR) reaction.Specific surface areas of the supports were measured by nitrogen adsorption-desorption at 77 K,and the catalysts were characterized with X-ray diffraction(XRD),temperature programmed reduction(TPR) and thermogravimetric(TG).The results showed that well...

Ethanol steam reforming over Ni/ZSM-5 nanosheet for hydrogen production

Compared to reforming reactions using hydrocarbons,ethanol steam reforming(ESR)is a sustainable alternative for hydrogen(H_(2))production since ethanol can be produced sustainably using biomass.This work explores the catalyst design strategies for preparing the Ni supported on ZSM-5 zeolite catalysts to promote ESR.Specifically,two-dimensional ZSM-5 nanosheet and conventional ZSM-5 crystal were used as the catalyst carriers and two synthesis strategies,i.e.,in situ encapsulation and wet impregnation method,were employed to prepare the catalysts.Based on the comparative characterization of the catalysts and comparative catalytic assessments,it was found that the combination of the in situ encapsulation synthesis and the ZSM-5 nanosheet carrier was the effective strategy to develop catalysts for promoting H_(2) production via ESR due to the improved mass transfer(through the 2-D structure of ZSM-5 nanosheet)and formation of confined small Ni nanoparticles(resulted via the in situ encapsulation synthesis).In addition,the resulting ZSM-5 nanosheet supported Ni catalyst also showed high Ni dispersion and high accessibility to Ni sites by the reactants,being able to improve the activity and stability of catalysts and suppress metal sintering and coking during ESR at high reaction temperatures.Thus,the Ni supported on ZSM-5 nanosheet catalyst prepared by encapsulation showed the stable performance with~88% ethanol conversion and~65% H_(2) yield achieved during a 48-h longevity test at 550-C.

Engineering oxygen vacancies on Tb-doped ceria supported Pt catalyst for hydrogen production through steam reforming of long-chain hydrocarbon fuels

Steam reforming of long-chain hydrocarbon fuels for hydrogen production has received great attention for thermal management of the hypersonic vehicle and fuel-cell application.In this work,Pt catalysts supported on CeO_(2)and Tb-doped CeO_(2)were prepared by a precipitation method.The physical structure and chemical properties of the as-prepared catalysts were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy,Raman spectroscopy,H_(2)temperature programmed reduction,and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.The results show that Tb-doped CeO_(2)supported Pt possesses abundant surface oxygen vacancies,good inhibition of ceria sintering,and strong metal-support interaction compared with CeO_(2)supported Pt.The catalytic performance of hydrogen production via steam reforming of long-chain hydrocarbon fuels(n-dodecane)was tested.Compared with 2Pt/CeO_(2),2Pt/Ce_(0.9)Tb_(0.1)O_(2),and 2Pt/Ce_(0.5)Tb_(0.5)O_(2),the 2Pt/Ce_(0.7)Tb_(0.3)O_(2)has higher activity and stability for hydrogen production,on which the conversion of n-dodecane was maintained at about 53.2%after 600 min reaction under 700℃at liquid space velocity of 9 ml·g^(-1)·h^(-1).2Pt/CeO_(2)rapidly deactivated,the conversion of n-dodecane was reduced to only 41.6%after 600 min.

La_2O_2CO_3 supported Ni-Fe catalysts for hydrogen production from steam reforming of ethanol

La2O2CO3 was prepared by calcination of La2 （CO3）3 in the air. Catalysts Ni-Fe/La2O2CO3 with different mole ratios of Ni to Fe, Ni/La2O2CO3 and Fe/La2O2CO3 were prepared by impregnation method. The catalytic properties were evaluated on steam reforming of ethanol （SRE） from 300 to 700 ℃ under atmospheric pressure and the samples were characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method （BET）, X-ray diffraction （XRD） and temperature programmed reduction （TPR）. The results showed that Ni-Fe bimetallic catalysts exhibited higher activities than single metallic catalysts, which was attributed to the co-existence of well dispersed Ni, Fe and LaFeyNi1-yO3. It was found that the catalyst Ni-Fe/La2O2CO3 containing 10 wt.% Ni and 3 wt.%-5 wt.% Fe showed the best performance, the conversion of ethanol was 100%, the selectivity of H2 was higher than 90%, and the selectivity of CO was lower than 1.5% at 400 ℃.

Low CO content hydrogen production from oxidative steam reforming of ethanol over CuO-CeO_2 catalysts at low-temperature

CuO-CeO2 catalysts were prepared by a urea precipitation method for the oxidative steam reforming of ethanol at low-temperature.The catalytic performance was evaluated and the catalysts were characterized by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy,X-ray diffraction,temperature-programmed reduction,field emission scanning electron microscopy and thermo-gravimetric analysis.Over CuOCeO2 catalysts,H2 with low CO content was produced in the whole tested temperature range of 250–450 C.The non-noble metal catalyst 20CuCe showed higher H2production rate than 1%Rh/CeO2 catalyst at 300–400 C and the advantage was more obvious after 20 h testing at400 C.These results further confirmed that CuO-CeO2 catalysts may be suitable candidates for low temperature hydrogen production from ethanol.

Ni/Y_2O_3-Al_2O_3 catalysts for hydrogen production from steam reforming of ethanol at low temperature

Y2O3-Al2O3 with different mole ratios of Y：Al were prepared by co-precipitation method. Catalysts Ni/Y2O3, Ni/Al2O3 and Ni/ Y2O3-Al2O3 were prepared by impregnation method. The result of BET showed that Al2O3 with relative high surface area was in favor of Ni distribution, whilst the TPR test demonstrated that composite support had appropriate synergistic effect between active constituent and sup-port, and NiO could be reduced more easily than loaded on the single support. H2-TPD test indicated that the catalyst NYA11 had lots of ac-tivity sites where H could be desorbed easily, which led to hydrogen-rich production over the catalyst. Composite support catalysts exhibited high activity for ethanol steam reforming （SRE）, and the supported catalyst with composite of 1：1 mole ratio of Y：Al exhibited the optimum catalytic properties for SRE. Ethanol could be completely converted over catalyst NYA11 even at 450 °C, and there had no inactivation after 60 h continuous reaction, hydrogen yield appeared maximum 35.9% at 400 ℃, and tended to increase with increasing H2O/EtOH molar ratio and feed flow rate.

Silicon Nitride Supported Cobalt Catalyst for Enhanced Hydrogen Production from Ethanol Steam Reforming

Silicon nitride(Si_(3)N_(4))supported cobalt catalysts(Co/Si_(3)N_(4))were fabricated by using wetness impregnation procedure.The microscopic morphology,phase composition,and electronic states were characterized by XRD,TEM,SEM,and XPS,respectively.For comparison,cobalt catalyst supported on SiO_(2)(Co/SiO_(2))was also investigated.XPS studies and DFT calculations show that the cobalt species in Co/Si_(3)N_(4) have lower valence state than those in Co/SiO_(2).The catalytic ESR reactions demonstrate that Co/Si_(3)N_(4) exhibits distinctly higher catalytic activity and hydrogen selectivity than Si_(3)N_(4) support and Co/SiO_(2) catalyst with the identical cobalt loading,indicative of the favorable effect of Si_(3)N_(4) support on the catalytic performance of supported cobalt catalyst.Durability tests and TG-DSC studies show that Co/Si_(3)N_(4) catalyst exhibits better stability and resistance to coke during the same catalytic experiment period.

Production of Synthesis Gases from Ethanol Steam Reforming Process

In this study, the production of synthesis gases has been purposed under between 250oC - 700oC and 1 - 2 bars pressures. The research was conducted over a commercial BASF catalyst and a laboratory prepared catalyst. The catalyst has a content of different substances including basically NiO/Al2O3 and some additionals (Ca, Mg, Cr, Si). The experimental measurements were carried out within a recently developed experimental equipment which can be operated up to 1200o and 1 to 3 bars pressures. The study was conducted over a commercial BASF catalyst and a laboratory prepared catalyst under different ethanol/water ratios, temperatures, and catalyst loads. Under the condition when ethanol/water ratios were decreased from 1/2 to 1/10, it was observed that hydrogen ratios increased in exit gas composition of the reactor. With increments in catalyst loads from 1 to 5 grammes, hydrogen ratios in exit gas composition gradually increased. Reaction of ethanol-steam reforming started nearly at 300oC, and when temperature increments continued further up to 700oC, hydrogen yields in exit gas compositions of the reactor increased significantly to a range of 70% - 80%. In the case of using commercial BASF catalyst, hydrogen ratios in exit gas composition were found slightly higher than laboratory prepared catalyst. According to our observations, life time of laboratory prepared catalyst was found higher than the commercial BASF catalyst. In this study which kinetic measurements were applied, some kinetic parameters of ethanol-steam reaction were calculated. The mean activation energy of ethanol consumptions at 573oK - 973oK was found as 26.87 kJ/mol, approximately. All kinetic measurements were analyzed with a first order reaction rate model. In this study, some diffusion limitations existed, however, overall reaction was chemically controlled.

High-efficient solar-driven hydrogen production by full-spectrum synergistic photo-thermo-catalytic methanol steam reforming with in-situ photoreduced Pt-CuO_(x) catalyst

Synergy between the intrinsic photon and thermal effects from full-spectrum sunlight for H_(2) production is considered to be central to further improve solar-driven H_(2) production.To that end,the photo-thermocatalyst that demonstrates both photoelectronic and photothermal conversion capabilities have drawn much attention recently.Here,we propose a novel synergistic full-spectrum photo-thermo-catalysis technique for high-efficient H_(2) production by solar-driven methanol steam reforming(MSR),along with the Pt-Cu Oxphoto-thermo-catalyst featuring Pt-Cu/Cu_(2)O/CuO heterojunctions by Pt-mediated in-situ photoreduction of Cu O.The results show that the H_(2) production performance rises superlinearly with increasing light intensity.The optimal H_(2) production rate of 1.6 mol g^(-1) h^(-1) with the corresponding solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 7%and the CO selectivity of 5%is achieved under 15×sun full-spectrum irradiance(1×sun=1 k W m^(-2))at 180°C,which is much more efficient than the previously-reported Cu-based thermo-catalysts for MSR normally operating at 250~350°C.These attractive performances result from the optimized reaction kinetics in terms of intensified intermediate adsorption and accelerated carrier transfer by long-wave photothermal effect,and reduced activation barrier by short-wave photoelectronic effect,due to the broadened full-spectrum absorbability of catalyst.This work has brought us into the innovative technology of full-spectrum synergistic photothermo-catalysis,which is envisioned to expand the application fields of high-efficient solar fuel production.

Improvement of low temperature activity and stability of Ni catalysts with addition of Pt for hydrogen production via steam reforming of ethylene glycol

Hydrogen production by steam reforming of ethylene glycol(EG) at 300℃ was investigated over SiO2 and CeO2 supported Pt–Ni bimetallic catalysts prepared by incipient wetness impregnation methods. It was observed that impregnation sequence of Pt and Ni can affect the performance of catalysts apparently. Catalyst with Pt first and then Ni addition showed higher EG conversion and H2 yield owing to the Ni enrichment on the surface and the proper interaction between Pt and Ni. It was observed that although SiO2 supported catalysts exhibited better activity and H2 selectivity, CeO2 supported ones had better stability. This is attributed to the less coke formation on CeO2. Increasing Pt/Ni ratio enhanced the reaction activity, and Pt3–Ni7 catalysts with 3 wt% Pt and 7 wt% Ni showed the highest activity and stability. Ni surficial enrichment facilitated the C-C bond rupture and water gas shift reactions;and Pt addition inhibited methanation reaction. Electron transfer and hydrogen spillover from Pt to Ni suppressed carbon deposition. These combined effects lead to the excellent performance of Pt3–Ni7 supported catalysts.

Hydrogen production via autothermal reforming of ethanol over noble metal catalysts supported on oxides

Hydrogen was produced over noble metal（Ir, Ru, Rh, Pd） catalysts supported on various oxides, including γ-Al2O3, CeO2, ZrO2 and La2O3, via the autothermal reforming reaction of ethanol （ATRE） and oxidative reforming reaction of ethanol （OSRE）. The conversion of ethanol and selectivites for hydrogen and byproducts such as methane, ethylene and acetaldehyde were studied. It was found that lanthana alone possessed considerable activity for the ATRE reaction, which could be used as a functional support for ATRE catalysts. It was demonstrated that Ir/La2O3 prevented the formation of methane, and Rh/La2O3 encumbered the production of ethylene and acetaldehyde. ATRE reaction was carried out over La2O3-supported catalysts （Ir/La2O3） with good stability on stream, high conversion, and excellent hydrogen selectivity approaching thermodynamic limit under autothermal condition. Typically, 3.4H2 molecules can be extracted from a pair of ethanol and water molecules over Ir（5wt%）/La2O3. The results presented in this paper indicate that Ir/La2O3 can be used as a promising catalyst for hydrogen production via ATRE reaction from renewable ethanol.

Steam Reforming of Dimethyl Ether by Gliding Arc Gas Discharge Plasma for Hydrogen Production

Gliding arc gas discharge plasma was used for the generation of hydrogen from steam reforming of dimethyl ether(DME).A systemic procedure was employed to determine the suitable experimental conditions.It was found that DME conversion first increased up to the maximum and then decreased slightly with the increase of added water and air.The increase of total feed gas flow rate resulted in the decrease of DME conversion and hydrogen yield,but hydrogen energy consumption dropped down to the lowest as total feed gas flow rate increased to76 ml·min 1.Larger electrode gap and higher discharge voltage were advantageous.Electrode shape had an important effect on the conversion of DME and production of H2.Among the five electrodes,electrode 2#with valid length of 55 mm and the radian of 34 degrees of the top electrode section was the best option,which enhanced obviously the conversion of DME.

Ethanol steam reforming study over ZSM-5 supported cobalt versus nickel catalyst for renewable hydrogen generation

The renewable hydrogen generation through ethanol steam reforming is one of the anticipated areas for sustainable hydrogen generation. To elucidate the role of Ni and Co with ZSM-5 support, catalysts were prepared by wet impregnation method and ethanol steam reforming(ESR) was performed. The catalysts were characterized by HR-XRD, ATR–FTIR, HR-SEM, TEM with SAED, EDAX, surface area analyzer and TPR. It had shown complete ethanol conversion at 773 K, but the selectivity in hydrogen generation was found higher for 10% Ni/ZSM-5 catalyst as compared to 10% Co/ZSM-5. The 10% Ni/ZSM-5 catalyst has about 72% hydrogen selectivity at temperature 873 K. It indicates that Ni is a more sustainable catalyst as compared to Co with ZSM-5 support for ESR. The C_2H_4 was found major undesirable products up to 823 K temperature. Nevertheless, the 10% Ni/ZSM-5 catalyst had shown its stability for high temperature(873 K) ESR performance.

NiO-Ce_(0.5)Zr_(0.5)O_2 catalysts prepared by citric acid method for steam reforming of ethanol

NiO-Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 catalysts were prepared by citrate method and used for hydrogen production from steam reforming of ethanol （SRE）. The effect of nickel content and space velocity on the catalytic performance was investigated. The prepared catalysts were characterized with XRD and thermal analysis techniques. 20%NiO-Ce0.5Zr0.5O2catalyst was very active and selective for hydrogen production via SRE, in which ethanol conversion of 100% could be obtained with feed component of 20% （H2O＋EtOH） and 80% N2, water/ethanol of 3/1 in molar ratio at 350 ℃. Also, the catalyst showed good stability for anti-sintering and carbon-resistance. The XRD illuminated that both NiO and Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 crystal sizes were very small in NiO-Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 catalyst, and Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 solid solution was formed.

Boosting hydrogen and chemicals production through ethanol electro-reforming on Pt-transition metal anodes

The aim of this work is to boost the combined hydrogen and added-values compounds generation(acetaldehyde, acetic acid and ethyl acetate) through ethanol electrochemical reforming using bimetallic anodes. In particular, the influence of the secondary metal on the electrochemical performance as well as on the product distribution was studied. For that purpose, Pt X/C electrocatalysts(where X corresponds to Cu, Co, Ni and Ru) were synthesized by the modified polyol method and tested in both half-cell and proton exchange membrane(PEM) cell configurations. Characterization results showed that incorporation of Ni and Co into the Pt matrix enhances the morphological properties of the material, providing smaller crystallite sizes, higher active surface areas and hence, better dispersion when comparing to Ru and Cu-based electrocatalysts. Ethanol oxidation reaction(EOR) was evaluated by cyclic, linear voltammetry and chronopotentiometry assays. Pt Co/C and Pt Ni/C exhibited the highest electrocatalytic activity at high polarization levels, which translate into an improvement of more than 30%(up to 1050 m A cm^(-2)) in the hydrogen production and chemical yields. On the other hand, Pt Ru/C results more advantageous for a lower potential interval(<0.85 V) promoting the acetic acid production despite sacrificing ethanol conversion. Pt Cu/C presented the lowest results in both electrochemical performance and product distribution. Such differences in the electrochemical performance can be rationalized in terms of the synergistic effect between both metals(particle size distribution, grade of dispersion and hydrophilic behavior), which demonstrate that the incorporation of a different secondary metal plays an essential role in the EOR development.

Kinetic behaviour of commercial catalysts for methane reforming in ethanol steam reforming process

Ethanol steam reforming has been studied in a fluidized bed （in order to ensure bed isothermicity） on commercial catalysts for methane reforming. The results allow analyzing the effect of temperature （in 300-700℃ range）, and both metal and support nature on the reaction indices （ethanol conversion, yields and selectivities to H2 and byproducts （CO2, CO, CH4 and C2H4O））. Special attention has been paid to catalysts＇ stability by comparing the evolution of the reaction indices with time on stream at 500°C （minimum CO formation） and 700℃ （minimum deactivation by coke deposition）. Although they provide a slightly lower H2 yield, the results evidence a good behaviour of Ni based catalysts, indicating that they are an interesting alternative of more expensive Rh based ones.

Study on Performance of Laminated Porous Metal Fiber Sintered Felt as Catalyst Support for Methanol Steam Reforming Microreactor

In this study, the laminated porous metal fiber sintered felt(PMFSF) functioning as catalyst support was used in a cylindrical methanol steam reforming(MSR) microreactor for hydrogen production. The PMFSF was fabricated by the low temperature solid-phase sintering method using metal fibers such as copper fibers and aluminum fibers which are obtained by the multi-tooth cutting method. The two-layer impregnation method was employed to coat Cu/Zn/Al/Zr catalyst on the PMFSF. The effect of fiber material, uniform porosity and gradient porosity on the performance of methano steam reforming microreactor was studied by varying the gas hourly space velocity(GHSV) and reaction temperature. Our results showed that the loading strength of porous copper fiber sintered felt(PCFSF) was better than porous aluminum fiber sintered felt(PAFSF). Under the same reaction conditions, the PCFSF showed higher methanol conversion and more H_2 output than PAFSF. Moreover, the gradient porosity(Type 5: 90%×80%×70%) of PMFSF used as the catalyst support in microreactor demonstrated a best reaction performance for hydrogen production.

Steam Reforming of Dimethyl Ether over Coupled Catalysts of CuO-ZnO-Al2Oa-ZrO2 and Solid-acid Catalyst

Steam reforming （SR） of dimethyl ether （DME） was investigated for the production of hydrogen for fuel cells. The activity of a series of solid acids for DME hydrolysis was investigated. The solid acid catalysts were ZSM-5 [Si/A] = 25, 38 and 50： denoted Z（Si/Al）] and acidic alumina （γ-Al2O3） with an acid strength order that was Z（25）〉Z（38）〉Z（50）〉γ-Al2O3. Stronger acidity gave higher DME hydrolysis conversion. Physical mixtures containing a CuO-ZnO-Al2O3-ZrO2 catalyst and solid acid catalyst to couple DME hydrolysis and methanol SR were used to examine the acidity effects on DME SR. DME SR activity strongly depended on the activity for DME hydrolysis. Z（25） was the best solid acid catalyst for DME, SR and gave a DME conversion〉90% IT= 240℃,n（H20）/n（DME） = 3.5, space velocity = 1179 ml.（g cat）^-1.h^-1, and P= 0.1MPa]. The influences of the reaction temperature, space velocity and feed molar ratio were studied. Hydrogen production significantly depended on temperature and space velocity. A bifunctional catalyst of CuO-ZnO-Al2O3-ZrO2 catalyst and ZSM-5 gave a high H2 production rate and CO2 selectivity.

Improved catalytic performance of Ni catalysts for steam methane reforming in a micro-channel reactor

Milliseconds process to produce hydrogen by steam methane reforming （SMR） reaction, based on Ni catalyst rather than noble catalyst such as Pd, Rh or Ru, in micro-channel reactors has been paid more and more attentions in recent years. This work aimed to further improve the catalytic performance of nickel-based catalyst by the introduction of additives, i.e., MgO and FeO, prepared by impregnation method on the micro-channels made of metal-ceramic complex substrate. The prepared catalysts were tested in the same micro-channel reactor by switching the catalyst plates. The results showed that among the tested catalysts Ni-Mg catalyst had the highest activity, especially under harsh conditions, i.e., at high space velocity and/or low reaction temperature. Moreover, the catalyst activity and selectivity were stable during the 12 h on stream test even when the ratio of steam to carbon （SIC） was as low as 1.0. The addition of MgO promoted the active Ni species to have a good dispersion on the substrate, leading to a better catalytic performance for SMR reaction.

Glycerol steam reforming over hydrothermal synthetic Ni-Ca/attapulgite for green hydrogen generation

Glycerol steam reforming(GSR)is one of the promising technologies that can realize renewable hydrogen production and efficient utilization of crude glycerol.To illuminate the functions of Ca content(3%,6%,9%,and 12%,by mass)and preparation method for Ni/ATP catalyst structure and its catalytic behaviors,the Ni-xCa/ATP(x=3%,6%,9%,and 12%,by mass)catalysts are prepared by co-impregnation(ci)and hydrothermal synthesis(hs)method and then tested in GSR.Characterization results of XRD,N_(2) adsorption–desorption,H_(2)-TPR,HRTEM,XPS,and NH_(3)/CO_(2)-TPD demonstrate that the combined effect between appropriate Ca additive(6%,by mass)and hs enhance catalyst reducibility,uniform distribution of Ca additive and nickel species over ATP,and adsorption for CO_(2).This attributes to hs method protects the ATP framework through suppressing the interaction of Ca with ATP and promotes the formation of NiCaOx interface sites.Therefore,Ni-6Ca/ATP-hs exhibits the highest conversion(86.77%)of glycerol to gas product and H_(2) yield(76.17%)and selectivity(58.56%)during GSR.Furthermore,XRD,HRTEM,TGDTG and Raman analyses confirm that Ni-6Ca/ATP-hs also reveals outstanding anti-sintering and coke resistance.In addition,the structural evolution process of Ni/ATP catalyst with Ca introduction and hs method is presented.Considering the high performance,simple preparation process and low cost,the as-prepared catalyst providing new opportunities for utilization of glycerol derived from biodiesel industry.