A resource recycling technique of hydrogen production from the catalytic degradation of organics in wastewater

A resource recycling technique of hydrogen production from the catalytic degradation of organics in wastewater by aqueous phase reforming (APR) has been proposed. It is worthy of noting that this technique may be a potential way for the purification of refractory and highly toxic organics in water for hydrogen production. Hazardous organics (such as phenol, aniline, nitrobenzene, tetrahydrofuran (THF), toluene, N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and cyclohexanol) in water could be completely de-graded into H2 and CO2 with high selectivity over Raney Ni, and Sn-modified Raney Ni (Sn-Raney-Ni) or Pd/C catalyst under mild conditions. The experimental results operated in tubular and autoclave reactors, indicated that the degradation degree of organics and H2 selectivity could reach 100% under the optimal reaction conditions. The Sn-Raney-Ni (Sn/Ni=0.06) and Pd/C catalysts show better catalytic performances than the Raney Ni catalyst for the degradation of organics in water into H2 and CO2 by the aqueous phase reforming process.