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.

High-performance Cu/Zn O/Al_(2)O_(3) catalysts for methanol steam reforming with enhanced Cu-ZnO synergy effect via magnesium assisted strategy

Methanol steam reforming(MSR) is an attractive approach to produce hydrogen for fuel cells.Due to the limited catalyst loading volume and frequent start-ups and shut-downs on board,it is highly desired to develop an extremely active and robust catalyst.Herein,on the basis of industrial Cu/ZnO/Al_(2) O_(3) catalysts,a series of CuZnAl-xMg catalysts with enhanced Cu-ZnO synergy were synthesized via magnesium assisted strategy.The incorporation of magnesium was found to be beneficial to the enhancement of catalytic activity and stability of catalyst.A combination of complementa ry characterizations(e.g.XRD,H_(2)-TPR,N_(2) O chemisorption,TEM,XPS analysis etc.) proves that isomorphous substitution of Cu^(2+)in malachite phase gives rise to more dispersive Cu and ZnO NPs,and the increased Cu^(+)/Cu~0 ratio indicates the strengthened Cu-ZnO synergy effect,which leads to the boosted stability during the thermal treatment.

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.

Methanol Steam Reforming over Na-Doped ZnO-Al2O3 Catalysts

In this study, the catalyst composition in binary ZnO-Al2O3 catalyst was initially evaluated and optimized for methanol steam reforming. Then different Na contents were loaded by an incipient wetness impregnation method onto the optimized ZnAl catalyst. It was found that the activity was greatly enhanced by the modification of Na, which depended on the Na content in the catalyst. The methanol conversion was 96% on a 0.1 Na/0.4 ZnAl catalyst (GHSV = 14,040 h-1, S/C = 1.4, 350°C), which was much higher with respect to a Na-free 0.4 ZnAl catalyst (74%). The remarkable improvement of activity was attributed to a weakening of the C-H bonds and clear of hydroxyl group by the Na dopant leading to an accelerated dehydrogenation of the reaction intermediates formed on ZnAl2O4 spinel surface and thus the overall reaction.

Probing crystalline phase effect of rare earth metal oxides(REO)on Cu/REO(RE=Gd,Eu,Sm)catalysts for methanol steam reforming(MSR)to produce H_(2)

In this work,to study the phase structure effect,three groups of Cu/REO catalysts were prepared with cubic and monoclinic Gd_(2)O_(3),Eu_(2)O_(3)and Sm_(2)O_(3) supports for MSR reaction to produce H_(2).Based on CH3OH conversion and H_(2)yield,the reaction perfo rmance of the catalysts ranks as Cu/Sm_(2)O_(3)-M>Cu/Sm_(2)O_(3)-C>Cu/Gd_(2)O_(3)-M>Cu/Gd_(2)O_(3)-C>Cu/Eu_(2)O_(3)-M>Cu/Eu_(2)O_(3)-C.For the same kind of REO,Cu supported on the monoclinic support shows better performance than on the cubic one.Despite the phase structure difference,Sm_(2)O_(3) is the best support among all the three kinds of REOs.Compared with Cu/REO catalysts prepared with cubic supports,the corresponding catalysts prepared with monoclinic supports generally possess mo re surface oxygen vacancies,which can generate mo re surface active oxygen(O_(2)^(-)) and moderate basic sites.Moreover,the contents of Cu^(+) on the catalysts follow the same sequence.The reaction performance is positively related to the amount of these three types of surface sites.But metallic Cuo species is necessary to maintain the Cu^(+)■Cu^(0) redox cycle.Furthe rmore,on a catalyst with good perfo rmance,those vital surface reaction intermediates can be stabilized during the reaction.Cu/Sm_(2)O_(3)-M possesses the largest quantities of these surface sites,and has the appropriate amount of Cu^(+) and Cu^(0) after reduction,thereby displaying the optimal performance in all the catalysts.In conclusion,evident support crystal structure effect is observed for Cu/REO catalysts,and a monoclinic phase REO is a better support than the respective cubic phase one.

Deactivation and regeneration of the commercial Cu/ZnO/Al_(2)O_(3) catalyst in low-temperature methanol steam reforming

Cu-based catalysts with excellent activity at low temperatures are widely used for methanol steam reforming(MSR)but suffer from deactivation problems.The present work aims to elucidate the deactivation and regeneration mechanisms of the commercial Cu/ZnO/Al_(2)O_(3) catalyst in low temperature MSR.By employing a series of(quasi)in situ characterization methods,it is found that the deactivation of the catalyst at a high weight hourly space velocity(WHSV)and a low reaction temperature is mainly due to the poisoning of Cu species associated with surface-oxygenated species with less Cu sintering,rather than carbon deposition,and strong metal-support interaction(SMSI).An in situ regeneration method was developed for the deactivated commercial Cu/ZnO/Al_(2)O_(3) catalyst via the simultaneous supply of O_(2).It is shown that the addition of O_(2)(≥1 vol%)can reverse the deactivation caused by surface-oxygenated poisoning due to the weak interaction between formed surface copper oxide and surface-oxygenated species,facilitating their desorption,but not deactivation caused by sintering,thereby partially restoring the catalytic activity.

Microfibrous entrapped ZnO-CaO/Al_2O_3 for high efficiency hydrogen production via methanol steam reforming

Sinter-locked microfibrous networks consisting of -3 vol.% of 8 p.m （dia.） nickel microfibers have been utilized to entrap -30vo1.% of 100-200 μm dia. porous AI203. ZnO and CaO were then highly dispersed onto the pore surface of entrapped A1203 by the incipient wetness impregnation method. Due to the unique combination of surface area, pore size/particle size, thermal conductivity, and void volume, the resulting microfibrous catalyst composites provided significant improvement of catalytic bed reactivity and utilization efficiency when used in methanol steam reforming. Roughly 260 mL/min of reformate, comprising 〉70% H2, 〈5% CO and trace CH4, with 〉97% methanol conversion, could be produced in a I cm3 bed volume of our novel microfihrous entrapped ZnO-CaO/Al2O3 catalyst composite at 470℃ with a high weight hourly space velocity （WHSV） of 15 h-1 using steam/methanol （1.3/1） mixture as feedstock. Compared to a packed bed of 100-200μm ZnO-CaO/Al2O3, our composite bed provided a doubling of the reactor throughput with a halving of catalyst usage.

Distinct facets to enhance the process of hydrogen production via methanol steam reforming-a review

Methanol steam reforming manifests great potential for generating hydrogen owing to its lower reaction temper-ature(200-300°C)and higher hydrogen/carbon ratio comparing with ethanol and methane reforming.In this case,methanol steam reforming is applied in various renewable energy systems to assist the energy conversion and improve the system efficiency.The performance of methanol steam reforming reaction strongly depends on the catalysts and reactor structure.In this paper,the development of the copper-based,the noble metal-based and the nanomaterial catalysts were summarized by analyzing the effects of different modification methods,which indicates that cutting the cost and simplifying the manufacturing process are the future goal of catalyst modifi-cation.Moreover,the reaction mechanism of different catalyst types was discussed.For the reactor performance,conventional,miniature,micro,and membrane reactors were discussed and compared,where conventional reac-tor with high CO tolerance is more suitable for industrial application while membrane reactor with high H 2 purity and compact structure is ideal for fuel cell technology.The integration of the methanol steam reforming system into renewable power systems was reviewed as well.Methanol steam reforming technology is of great potential in exhaust heat recovery,cogeneration system and other renewable energy field,where more comprehensive researches should be performed.

Hydrogen production from steam reforming of methanol over CuO/ZnO/Al_2O_3 catalysts: Catalytic performance and kinetic modeling

A series of CuO/ZnO/Al_2O_3, CuO/ZnO/ZrO_2/Al_2O_3 and CuO/ZnO/CeO_2/Al_2O_3 catalysts were prepared by coprecipitation and characterized by N_2 adsorption, XRD, TPR, N_2O titration and HRTEM. The catalytic performances of these catalysts for the steam reforming of methanol were evaluated in a laboratory-scale fixed-bed reactor at 0.1 MPa and temperatures between 473 and 543 K. The results showed that the catalytic activity depended greatly on the catalyst reducibility and the specific surface area of Cu. An approximate linear correlation between the catalytic activity and the Cu surface area was found for all catalysts investigated in this study.Compared to CuO/ZnO/Al_2O_3, the ZrO_2-doped CuO/ZnO/Al_2O_3 exhibited higher activity and selectivity to CO,while the CeO_2-doped catalyst displayed lower activity and selectivity. Finally, an intrinsic kinetic study was carried out over a screened CuO/ZnO/CeO_2/Al_2O_3 catalyst in the absence of internal and external mass transfer effects. A good agreement was observed between the model-derived effluent concentrations of CO(CO_2) and the experimental data. The activation energies for the reactions of methanol-steam reforming, water-gas shift and methanol decomposition over CuO/ZnO/CeO_2/Al_2O_3 were 93.1, 85.1 and 116.5 k J·mol^(-1), respectively.

Highly controlled structured catalysts for on-board methanol reforming

The on-board methanol steam reforming(MSR) has long been considered as an effective approach to insitu produce hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles(FCVs). However, the conventional MSR catalyst pellets suffer from easy breakage during the vehicle movement, leading to increased pressure drop and reduced system stability. Herein, we introduce an integrated method to prepare the highly controlled structured catalysts based on coupled processes: direct prototyping the structured substrate using digital light processing(DLP) 3D printing technology, in-situ dynamic crystallization of active components assisted by magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) and calcination. The synthesized catalyst owns a gradient layer of active component, and exhibits better MSR performance, higher mechanical strength, reduced pressure drop, higher Cu dispersion and better adhesion of active compounds when compared with the conventional powder and pellet catalysts. The demonstrated successful application proves the feasibility of developed method,which has great potential to be used for preparing precisely other monolithic catalysts with customized structures.

Performance assessment of a spiral methanol to hydrogen fuel processor for fuel cell applications

A novel design of plate-type microchannel reactor has been developed for fuel cell-grade hydrogen production.Commercial Cu/Zn/Al2O3 was used as catalyst for the reforming reaction,and its effectiveness was evaluated on the mole fraction of products,methanol conversion,hydrogen yield and the amount of carbon monoxide under various operating conditions.Subsequently,0.5 wt% Ru/Al2O3 as methanation catalyst was prepared by impregnation method and coupled with MSR step to evaluate the capability of methanol processor for CO reduction.Based on the experimental results,the optimum conditions were obtained as feed flow rate of 5mL/h and temperature of 250℃,leading to a low CO selectivity and high H2 yield.The designed reformer with catalyst coated layer was compared with the conventional packed bed reformer at the same operating conditions.The constructed fuel processor had a good performance and excellent capability for on-board hydrogen production.

Modeling of Packed Bed Methanol Steam Reformer Integrated with Tubular High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

This work proposes a novel tubular structure of high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC)integrated with a built-in packed-bed methanol steam reformer to provide hydrogen for power output.A two-dimensional axisymmetric non-isothermal model was developed in COMSOL Multiphysics 5.4 to simulate the performance of a tubular high temperature proton membrane fuel cell and a packed bed methanol reformer.The model considers the coupling multi-physical processes,including methanol reforming reaction,water gas shift reaction,methanol cracking reaction as well as the heat,mass and momentum transport processes.The sub-model of the tubular packed-bed methanol reformer is validated between 433 K and 493 K with the experimental data reported in the literature.The sub-model of the high temperature proton exchange fuel cell is validated between 393 K and 433 K with the published literature.Our results show that power output and temperature distribution of the integrated unit depend on methanol flow rates and working voltages.It was suggested that stable power generation performance of 0.14 W/cm_(2)and temperature drop in methanol steam reformer of≤10 K could be achieved by controlling the methanol space-time ratio of≥250 kg·s/mol with working voltage at 0.6 V,even in the absence of an external heat source.