Effects of calcination and activation temperature on dry reforming catalysts

The effect of calcination temperatures on dry reforming catalysts supported on high surface area alumina Ni/γ-Al₂O₃ (SA-6175) was studied experimentally. In this study, the prepared catalyst was tested in a micro tubular reactor using temperature ranges of 500, 600, 700 and 800 °C at atmospheric pressure, using a total flow rate of 33 ml/min consisting of 3 ml/min of N₂, 15 ml/min of CO₂ and 15 ml/min of CH₄. The calcination was carried out in the range of 500–900 °C. The catalyst is activated inside the reactor at 500–800 °C using hydrogen gas. It was observed that calcination enhances catalyst activity which increases as calcination and reaction temperatures were increased. The highest conversion was obtained at 800 °C reaction temperature by using catalyst calcined at 900 °C and activation at 700 °C. The catalyst characterization conducted supported the observed experimental results.     

Investigation of the Pt–Ni–Pb/C ternary alloy catalysts for methanol electrooxidation

This research is aimed to increase the activity of anodic catalysts and thus to lower noble metal loading in anodes for methanol electrooxidation. The Pt–Ni–Pb/C catalysts with different molar compositions were prepared. Their performance were tested by using a glassy carbon disk electrode through cyclic voltammetric curves in a solution of 0.5 mol L⁻¹ CH₃OH and 0.5 mol L⁻¹ H₂SO₄. The performances of Pt–Ni–Pb/C catalyst with optimum composition (the molar ratio of Pt/Ni/Pb is 5:4:1) and Pt/C (E-Tek) were also compared. Their particle sizes and structures were determined by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRD results show, compared with that of Pt/C, the lattice parameter of Pt–Ni–Pb (5:4:1)/C catalyst decreases, its diffraction peaks are shifted slightly to a higher 2θ values. This indicates the formation of an alloy involving the incorporation of Ni and Pb atoms into the fcc structure of Pt. The electrochemical measurement shows the activity of Pt–Ni–Pb/C catalyst with an atomic ratio of 5:4:1 for methanol electrooxidation is the best among all different compositions. The activity of Pt–Ni–Pb (5:4:1)/C catalyst is much higher than that of Pt/C (E-Tek).     

Investigation of steam reforming of acetic acid to hydrogen over Ni–Co metal catalyst

Catalytic generation of hydrogen by steam reforming of acetic acid over a series of Ni–Co catalysts have been studied. The catalyst with the molar ratio of 0.25:1 between Ni and Co was superior to other catalysts. The effects of reaction temperature, liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) and molar ratios of steam-to-carbon (S/C) were studied in detail over this catalyst. At T = 673 K, LHSV = 5.1 h⁻¹, S/C = 7.5:1, the catalyst exhibited the best performances. Acetic acid was converted completely to hydrogen, while H₂ selectivity reached up to 96.3% and CO₂ selectivity up to 98.1% was obtained, respectively. Ni–Co catalyst showed rather stable performances for the 70 h time-on-stream without any deactivation.     

Cobalt ferrite for direct cracking of methane to produce hydrogen and carbon nanostructure: Effect of temperature and methane flow rate

Cobalt ferrite (CoFe₂O₄) was used as a catalyst for direct methane cracking. The reaction was accomplished in a fixed bed reactor at normal atmospheric pressure, while gas flow rate (20–50 mL/min) and reaction temperature (800–900 °C) were varied. The fresh CoFe₂O₄ morphology is sponge-like particle with inverse spinel structure as revealed from SEM and XRD results. The methane conversions and hydrogen formation rate were increased with reaction temperature, while catalyst stability and induction period decreased. Increases of gas flow rate > 20 mL/min led to a decrease the overall catalytic activity of CoFe₂O₄ for methane cracking. The XRD results of spent catalysts revealed that CoFe alloy was the active phase of methane cracking. TGA analysis showed that the largest amount of deposited carbon was 70.46 % at (20 mL/min, 900 °C), where it was 34.40 % at (50 mL/min, 800 °C). The deposited carbon has the shape of spherical carbon nanostructures and/or nano sprouts as observed with SEM. Raman data confirmed the graphitization type of the deposited carbon.     

Promotion effect of additive Fe on Al2O3 supported Ni catalyst for CO2 methanation

In this paper, the effect of additive Fe on Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst for CO₂ methanation was studied. A series of bimetallic Ni–Fe catalysts with different Ni/Fe ratios were prepared by impregnation method. For comparison, monometallic Fe‐based and Ni‐based catalysts were also prepared by the same method. The characterization results showed that adding Fe to Ni catalyst on the premise of a low Ni loading(≦12 wt.%) enhanced CO₂ methanation performance. However, when the Ni loading reached 12 wt.%, the catalytic activity decreased with the increase of Fe content, but still higher than the corresponding Ni‐based catalyst without Fe. Among them, the 12Ni3Fe catalyst exhibited the highest CO₂ conversion of 84.3 % and nearly 100% CH₄ selectivity at 50000 ml g^‐1 h^‐1 and 420 °C. The enhancement effect of adding Fe on CO₂ methanation was attributed to the dual effect of suitable electronic environment and increased reducibility generated by Fe species.     

Chemical deposition and exfoliation from liquid crystal template: Nickel/nickel (II) hydroxide nanoflakes electrocatalyst for a non-enzymatic glucose oxidation reaction

This work reports the synthesis of nickel/nickel hydroxides nanoflakes (Ni/Ni(OH)₂-NFs) at room temperature via a novel chemical deposition and exfoliation from a liquid crystal template mixture. The nickel ions dissolved in the interstitial aqueous domain of the Brij®78 hexagonal liquid crystal template were deposited by a reducing agent of sodium borohydride that concurrently reduces the nickel ions and generates extreme hydrogen gas bubbles, that exfoliated the nickel/nickel hydroxide layers. The Ni/Ni(OH)₂-NFs crystal structure, morphology, and surface area characterizations revealed the formation of semi-crystalline α-Ni(OH)₂ nanoflakes with a thickness of approximately 10 nm and a specific surface area of about 135 m²/g. The electrochemical measurements of cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and impedance analysis showed that the Ni/Ni(OH)₂-NFs exhibited significant performance for the glucose non-enzymatic oxidation in an alkaline solution in comparison to the bare-nickel hydroxide (bare-Ni(OH)₂) deposited without surfactant. The Ni/Ni(OH)₂-NFs electrode showed superior glucose oxidation activity over the bare-Ni(OH)₂ catalyst with a sensitivity of 1.078 mA mM^?1 cm^?2 with a linear concentration dependency range from 0.2 to 60 mM and a detection limit of 0.2 mM (S/N = 3). The enhanced electrochemical active surface area and mesoporosity of the 2D nanoflakes make the Ni/Ni(OH)₂-NFs a promising catalyst in the application of glucose non-enzymatic sensing.     

Structural,optical and photocatalytic activity of cerium doped zinc aluminate

Zinc aluminate and cerium-doped zinc aluminate nanoparticles are synthesised by co-precipitation method. Ammonium hydroxide is used as a precipitating agent. The synthesised compounds are characterised by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Ultraviolet diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Surface area measurements. The photocatalytic activity of zinc aluminate and cerium doped zinc aluminate nanoparticles are studied under the UV light and visible light taking methylene blue as a model pollutant. The amount of catalyst, concentration of dye solution and time are optimised under UV-light. Degradation of methylene blue under the UV-light is found to be 99% in 20 min with 10 mg of cerium doped catalyst. Compared to visible light degradation, the degradation of dye under UV-light is higher. Cerium doping in zinc aluminate (ZnAl₂O₄:Ce³⁺) increased the photocatalytic activity of zinc aluminate.     

Methane-fueled SOFC with traditional nickel-based anode by applying Ni/Al2O3 as a dual-functional layer

Novel γ-Al₂O₃ supported nickel (Ni/Al₂O₃) catalyst was developed as a functional layer for Ni–ScSZ cermet anode operating on methane fuel. Catalytic tests demonstrated Ni/Al₂O₃ had high and comparable activity to Ru–CeO₂ and much higher activity than the Ni–ScSZ cermet anode for partial oxidation, steam and CO₂ reforming of methane to syngas between 750 and 850 °C. By adopting Ni/Al₂O₃ as a catalyst layer, the fuel cell demonstrated a peak power density of 382 mW cm^?2 at 850 °C, more than two times that without the catalyst layer. The Ni/Al₂O₃ also functioned as a diffusion barrier layer to reduce the methane concentration within the anode; consequently, the operation stability was also greatly improved without coke deposition.     

Screening heterogeneous catalysts for the pyrolysis of lignin

The pyrolytic conversion of pure lignin at 600 °C in flowing helium over five catalysts is described and compared to the control bed material, sand. Product distribution as char, liquid, and gas are described as well as the composition of the liquid and gas fractions. The catalysts examined were HZSM-5, KZSM-5, Al-MCM-41, solid phosphoric acid, and a hydrotreating catalyst, (Co/Mo/Al₂O₃). The sand yielded a liquid phase that was 97% oxygenated aromatics and a gas phase that was CO (18 vol%), CO₂ (16 vol%), and CH₄ (12 vol%). HZSM-5 was the best catalyst for producing a deoxygenated liquid fraction yielded almost equal amounts of simple aromatics (46.7%) and naphthalenic ring compounds (46.2%). The gas phase over this catalyst consisted of CO (22 vol%), CO₂ (14 vol%), H₂ (12 vol%), and CH₄ (10 vol%). The Co/Mo/Al₂O₃ hydrotreating catalyst yielded a liquid consisting of 21% aromatics, 4% naphthalenics, and 75% oxygenated aromatics and a gas phase that was rich in hydrogen: H₂ (18 vol%), CO₂ (16 vol%), CO (12 vol%), and CH₄ (8 vol%).     

Fe-Mn-Cu-Ce/Al2O3 as an efficient catalyst for catalytic ozonation of bio-treated coking wastewater: Characteristics,efficiency, and mechanism

It is important to develop a catalyst that has high catalytic activity and can improve the degradation efficiency of refractory organic pollutants in the catalytic ozonation process. In this study, Fe-Mn-Cu-Ce/Al₂O₃ was synthesised via impregnation calcination for catalytic ozonation of bio-treated coking wastewater. The physical and chemical characteristics of the catalysts were analysed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller nitrogen adsorption–desorption methods. The effects of catalyst dosage, pH, and reflux ratio on the degradation efficiency of wastewater were examined in laboratory-scale experiments. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rate of bio-treated coking wastewater was estimated to be 52.76 % under optimal conditions. The experiments on the catalytic mechanism demonstrated that the surface hydroxyl formed by the Lewis acid sites on the surface of the catalyst can react with ozone as the active site forming the active oxygen (·OH, ·O₂^–, and ¹O₂), thereby efficiently degrading the organic pollutants in coking wastewater. Furthermore, a pilot-scale experiment on the catalytic ozonation of bio-treated coking wastewater was carried out using an Fe-Mn-Cu-Ce/Al₂O₃ catalyst, while the effects of the initial pollutant concentration, ozone concentration, and gas flow on the COD removal rate were studied on a pilot scale. It was found that the COD removal rate of the wastewater was ～ 60 % under optimal parameters. After the treatment, the wastewater steadily reached the coking wastewater discharge standard (COD < 80 mg/L), while the operating cost of catalytic ozonation reached ～ 0.032$/m³, thereby paving the way toward economic engineering applications. The COD degradation kinetics in the bio-treated coking wastewater followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. Three-dimensional fluorescence and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry revealed that macromolecular organic pollutants in the bio-treated coking wastewater were greatly degraded. In summary, Fe-Mn-Cu-Ce/Al₂O₃ exhibited good reusability, high catalytic activity, and low cost and has a wide application prospect in the treatment of coking wastewater.     

Simple and rapid determination of zaltoprofen in human plasma by manual‐shaking‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection

A readily applicable method was developed to determine the concentration level of zaltoprofen, a non‐steroidal antiinflammatory drug from the propionic acid family, in human plasma. This method is based on manual‐shaking‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. Factors affecting the extraction efficiency were screened and optimized by experimental design using fractional factorial and central composite designs, respectively. Optimal conditions were: 220 μL of C₂H₄Cl₂ (extraction solvent), 5 mL of 3.75% w/v NaCl aqueous solution at pH 2.0, and manual shaking for 13 s (65 times). The resulting extraction method yielded a reasonable enrichment factor of 18.0 (±0.6, n  = 3) and extraction recovery of 86.0% (±3.3%, n  = 3). The established method was validated for selectivity, linearity, precision, accuracy, matrix effect, recovery, dilution integrity, and stability, and it met the acceptable criteria for all of the tested parameters. Specifically, the method was linear in the range of 0.16–50.0 mg/L, precise (< 8.8% RSD), accurate (–7.5–5.6% deviation), and showed negligible matrix effects (96.1–106.4%) with high absolute recovery (94.5–97.7%). Compared with previous methods involving labor‐intensive liquid–liquid extraction or non‐specific protein precipitation, our method allows the simple, rapid, and efficient determination of zaltoprofen using the most affordable analytical instrument, liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection.     

Carbon Dioxide Reforming of Methane over Ni Catalysts Supported on Al2O3 Modified with La2O3, MgO, and CaO

The preparation of synthesis gas from carbon dioxide reforming of methane (CDR) has attracted increasing attention. The present review mainly focuses on CDR to produce synthesis gas over Ni/MO_x/Al₂O₃ (X = La, Mg, Ca) catalysts. From the examination of various supported nickel catalysts, the promotional effects of La₂O₃, MgO, and CaO have been found. The addition of promoters to Al₂O₃-supported nickel catalysts enhances the catalytic activity as well as stability. The catalytic performance is strongly dependent on the loading amount of promoters. For example, the highest CH₄ and CO₂ conversion were obtained when the ratios of metal M to Al were in the range of 0.04–0.06. In the case of Ni/La₂O₃/Al₂O₃ catalyst, the highest CH₄ conversion (96%) and CO₂ conversion (97%) was achieved with the catalyst (La/Al = 0.05 (atom/atom)). For Ni/CaO/Al₂O₃ catalyst, the catalyst with Ca/Al = 0.04 (atom/atom) exhibited the highest CH₄ conversion (91%) and CO₂ conversion (92%) among the catalysts with various CaO content. Also, Ni/MgO/Al₂O₃ catalyst with Mg/Al = 0.06 (atom/atom) showed the highest CH₄ conversion (89%) and CO₂ conversion (90%) among the catalysts with various Mg/Al ratios. Thus it is most likely that the optimal ratios of M to Al for the highest activities of the catalysts are related to the highly dispersed metal species. In addition, the improved catalytic performance of Al₂O₃-supported nickel catalysts promoted with metal oxides is due to the strong interaction between Ni and metal oxide, the stabilization of metal oxide on Al₂O₃ and the basic property of metal oxide to prevent carbon formation.     

A new procedure for determination of nickel in some fake jewelry and cosmetics samples after dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction by FAAS

A new, simple and cheap dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) procedure was optimized for the preconcentration of trace amounts of Ni(II) as a prior step to its determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). It is based on the microextraction of nickel, where appropriate amounts of the extraction solvent (CHCl₃), disperser solvent (ethanol) and chelating agent, name 5‐[(Z)‐isoxazol‐3‐yl‐diazenyl]‐2‐methyl‐quinolin‐8‐ol (MMD), were firstly synthesized/characterized and used. Various parameters that affect the extraction procedure such as pH, centrifugation rate and time, the chelating agent (MMD) concentration and sampling volume on the recovery of Ni(II) were investigated. The preconcentration of a 20 ml sample solution was thus enhanced by a factor of 80. The resulting calibration graph was linear in the range of 0.24–10 mg L⁻¹ with a correlation coefficient of 0.9998. The limit of detection (3 s/b) obtained under optimal conditions was 1.00 μg L⁻¹. The relative standard deviation for certified reference material determinations was 1.2%. The accuracy of the method was verified by the determination of Ni(II) in the certified reference material of wastewater (Waste water CWW TMD). The proposed procedure was successfully applied to the determination of Ni(II) in some fake jewelry and cosmetics samples.     

The effects of temperature on product yields and composition of bio-oils in hydropyrolysis of rice husk using nickel-loaded brown coal char catalyst

Hydropyrolysis of rice husk was performed using nickel-loaded Loy Yang brown coal char (Ni/LY) catalyst in a fluidized bed reactor at 500, 550, 600 and 650 °C with an aim to study the influence of catalyst and catalytic hydropyrolysis temperature on product yields and the composition of bio-oil. An inexpensive Ni/LY char was prepared by the ion-exchange method with nickel loading rate of 9 ± 1 wt.%. Nickel particles which dispersed well in Loy Yang brown coal char showed a large specific surface area of Ni/LY char of 350 m²/g. The effects of catalytic activity and hydropyrolysis temperature of rice husk using Ni/LY char were examined at the optimal condition for bio-oil yield (i.e., pyrolysis temperature 500 °C, static bed height 5 cm, and gas flow rate 2 L/min without catalyst). In the presence of catalyst, the oxygen content of bio-oil decreased by about 16% compared with that of non-catalyst. Raising the temperature from 500 to 650 °C reduced the oxygen content of bio-oil from 27.50% to 21.50%. Bio-oil yields decreased while gas yields and water content increased with increasing temperature due to more oxygen being converted into H₂O, CO₂, and CO. The decreasing of the oxygen content contributed to a remarkable increase in the heating value of bio-oil. The characteristics of bio-oil were analyzed by Karl Fischer, GC/MS, GPC, FT-IR, and CHN elemental analysis. The result indicated that the hydropyrolysis of rice husk using Ni/LY char at high temperature can be used to improved the quality of bio-oil to level suitable for a potential liquid fuel and chemical feedstock.     

The biogenic silica-derived Ni-phyllosilicate catalyst with Ru modification: effect of the hydroxylation enhancement and reduction procedure

Ni-phyllosilicate is difficultly formed on the surface of biogenic silica (E) extracted from equisetum fluviatile after calcination, resulting in poor catalytic activity at low temperature (<400 °C). In this work, the hydroxylation treatment of E was carried out to address the problem of lack of the surface silanol group and difficult formation of Ni-phyllosilicate, and the second metal Ru was added using a special procedure to further improve the activity of the catalyst. The surface silanol group concentration of silica (HE) was increased from 0.5 to 0.7 mmol/g after hydroxylation treatment, resulting in formation of more Ni-phyllosilicate with Ni content increase from 11.3 to 17.0 wt%. Considering the great gap of reduction difficulty of Ni-phyllosilicate (>800 °C) and RuO₂ species (190 °C), RuO₂ species was doped onto the 750 °C-pre-reduced Ni-phyllosilicate via impregnation, and metallic Ru together with Ni could be obtained simultaneously after reduction at a low temperature of 400 °C. The obtained Ru-modified Ni-phyllosilicate catalyst showed high CO₂ conversion of 77.3% and CH₄ selectivity of 96.4% with high turnover frequency (1.22 s^?1, 180 °C) and low activation energy (71.25 kJ/mol). In situ Diffused Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS) results revealed that more active formate intermediates (m-HCOO- and m-CO₃^2?) result in high catalytic activity of the Ru-modified Ni-phyllosilicate catalyst. In addition, this catalyst exhibited high anti-sintering property, long-term stability, and hydrothermal stability under severe conditions owing to the Ni-phyllosilicate–based structure.     

Ni/Silica catalyzed acetylation of phenols and naphthols: An eco-friendly approach

A method for 10% Ni/SiO₂ catalyst is developed for acetylation of phenol, substituted phenols, naphthols, substituted alcohols under mild liquid phase conditions affording aromatic esters with maximum conversions of 50–80% and 100% selectivity. The catalyst showed remarkable reusability for up to 4 cycles. This methodology is eco-friendly, economic with Ni/SiO₂ catalysts exhibiting no loss of activity the first report for acetylation of substituted phenols to esters with 10% Ni/SiO₂ catalyst.     

Prefabrication of two-dimensional Ni–W/TiN films on oil-gas X52 steels by pulse electrodeposition

The main aim of this investigation was to prefabricate two-dimensional Ni–W/TiN films on oil-gas X52 steel substrates via pulse electrodeposition (PE). The influences of the TiN content in the bath on the surface morphology, nano-hardness, wear, and corrosion properties of the films were also discussed. The results indicated that the TiN particle size was only ～33 nm in 8 g/L TiN electrolyte, which was ～2.4 times less than that of TiN in 16 g/L solution. The Ni–W/8TiN film exhibited a uniform, smooth surface, and the depression depth and protrusion height were 45.3 nm and 81.7 nm, respectively. Three diffraction peaks at 43.72, 50.78, and 75.26° in the Ni–W/4TiN film emerged as the sharpest and narrowest peaks among the four films. Three XPS peaks for the Ni 2p_3/2 were present at 852.13, 856.35, and 861.87 eV in the Ni–W/8TiN film, corresponding to Ni, Ni²⁺ (Ni(OH)₂), Ni³⁺ (NiOOH) species. Besides, the XPS peak of W 4f_7/2, which located at 33.85 eV belonged to elemental W. The Ni–W/8TiN film had the lowest wear depth and width at 32.1 μm and 5.7 mm, respectively. Only some narrow and shallow scratches were found on the Ni–W/8TiN film surface, showing its outstanding tribological properties among the films tested. In addition, the Ni–W/4TiN film showed the highest mean frictional coefficient of 0.73, which was ～1.6 times more than that of the Ni–W/8TiN film.     

Engineering d-band center of nickel in nickel@nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes array for electrochemical reduction of CO2 to CO and Zn-CO2 batteries

Self-supported transition-metal single-atom catalysts (SACs) facilitate the industrialization of electrochemical CO₂ reduction, but suffer from high structural heterogeneity with limited catalytic selectivity. Here we present a facile and scalable approach for the synthesis of self-supported nickel@nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes grown on carbon nanofiber membrane (Ni@NCNTs/CFM), where the Ni single atoms and nanoparticles (NPs) are anchored on the wall and inside of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes, respectively. The side effect of Ni NPs was further effectively inhibited by alloying Ni with Cu atoms to alter their d-band center, which is theoretically predicted and experimentally proved. The optimal catalyst Ni₉Cu₁@NCNTs/CFM exhibits an ultrahigh CO Faradic efficiency over 97% at ?0.7 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. Additionally, this catalyst shows excellent mechanical strength which can be directly used as a self-supporting catalyst for Zn-CO₂ battery with a peak power density of ～0.65 mW/cm² at 2.25 mA/cm² and a long-term stability for 150 cycles. This work opens up a general avenue to facilely prepare self-supported SACs with unitary single-atom site for CO₂ utilization.     

Porous carbon as electrode material in direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) synthesized by the direct carbonization of MOF-5

Porous carbon (PC-900) was prepared by direct carbonization of porous metal-organic framework (MOF)-5 (Zn₄O(bdc)₃, bdc?=?1,4-benzenedicarboxylate) at 900 °C. The carbon material was deposited with PtM (M?=?Fe, Ni, Co, and Cu (20 %) metal loading) nanoparticles using the polyol reduction method, and catalysts PtM/PC-900 were designed for direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs). However, herein, we are reporting PtFe/PC-900 catalyst combination which has exhibited superior performance among other options. This catalyst was characterized by powder XRD, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) technique. The electrocatalytic capability of the catalyst for ethanol electrooxidation was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and direct ethanol single cell testing. The results were compared with those of PtFe and Pt supported on Vulcan XC72 carbon catalysts (PFe/CX-72 and Pt/XC-72) prepared via the same method. It has been observed that the catalyst PtFe/PC-900 developed in this work showed an outstanding normalized activity per gram of Pt (6.8 mA/g Pt) and superior power density (121 mW/cm² at 90 °C) compared to commercially available carbon-supported catalysts.     

Hydrogen Production by Catalytic Reforming of Liquid Hydrocarbons

In this review, we are reporting the catalytic reforming of liquid hydrocarbon fuels carried out in our research group, covering the catalytic reforming of iso-octane and toluene as surrogate of gasoline, gasoline fuel processor system and steam reforming of n-hexadecane and decahydronaphthalene, main constituents of diesel. The commercial ICI reforming catalyst is prone to be poisoned by sulfur contained in iso-octane. We investigated various supported transition metal formulations and developed Ni/Fe/MgO/Al₂O₃ (KIST-5) catalyst with prolonged catalytic stability (>760 h), higher activity and sulfur tolerance ability over commercial ICI and HT catalysts for ATR reaction of iso-octane. We found that the concentration of CO can be reduced to <1,800 ppm by the gasoline fuel processor system charged with KIST-5 reforming catalyst, commercial HTS catalyst and KIST Pt–Ni/CeO₂ LTS catalyst. The addition of Rh metal to spc-Ni/MgAl catalyst as promoter was found to be very effective in inhibiting the deactivation of spc-Ni/MgAl catalyst by sintering of reduced Ni metal at high temperature during steam reforming of n-hexadecane. A 0.3 wt% Rh loading on spc-Ni/MgAl catalyst was optimized to have the best performance for steam reforming of n-hexadecane among the prepared catalysts. The addition of Rh to spc-Ni/MgAl catalyst also restricted the deactivation of the catalyst due to carbon formation at high reaction temperature. In view point of prolonged stability and higher activity, these developed reforming catalysts have a good scope in the reforming process of gasoline and diesel for hydrogen station and fuel processor system applications.