Hydrogen production by steam reforming of methanol by Cu–Zn/CeAlO3 perovskite

Abstract

In steam reforming of methanol (SRM), the efficacy of CeAlO₃ perovskite as a support for a bimetal catalyst was investigated. CeAlO₃ perovskite was synthesized employing a mesoporous silica (MCF) hard template and an incipient wetness impregnation approach to load copper and zinc over the surface of the porous CeAlO₃ perovskite. Different loadings of Cu–Zn on CeAlO₃ were used and studied for their activity and selectivity. Initial studies were done with 5%Cu–5%Zn/CeAlO₃ and thereafter a superior catalyst 10%Cu–10%Zn/CeAlO₃ was synthesised and employed for SRM. 10%Cu–10%Zn/CeAlO₃ catalyst showed very high activity, and selectivity, with minimal carbon deposition. It led to a high conversion of methanol (98.9%) to produce 97.9 mol% hydrogen at a significantly lower temperature of 593 K, using steam to carbon (S/C) of 6, and GHSV of 2700 mL g⁻¹ h⁻¹, in comparison with the published literature. In addition, contaminants such as CO linked to oxygen vacancy defects and acid sites on the CeAlO₃ surface were not discovered in the Cu–Zn/CeAlO₃ catalyst. The catalyst was characterised using XRD, FESEM-EDS, HR-TEM, H₂-TPR, CO₂ and NH₃ TPD, BET, and XPS. The activity and selectivity of the Cu–Zn/CeAlO₃ catalyst in SRM were studied and it appears to have industrial applications.