Issue 35, 2020, Issue in Progress

Catalytic characteristics of a Ni–MgO/HZSM-5 catalyst for steam reforming of toluene

Abstract

Steam reforming is a potential technology for the conversion of biomass pyrolysis tar into gaseous products. In this study, HZSM-5 was selected as the nickel-based catalyst support and toluene was chosen as the tar model compound. Ni was replaced with MgO to improve the coking resistance of the catalyst. The effects of Ni and MgO loading on toluene conversion and gaseous product generation rate were investigated. The low Ni-loading Ni/HZSM-5 catalyst exhibited poor catalytic activity, whereas a high Ni-loading catalyst displayed poor coking resistance. The addition of the MgO promoter enhanced the steam reforming performance of the Ni/HZSM-5 catalyst with a low loading of active metal Ni (3 wt%). The optimal MgO loading was found at 6 wt%. By characterizing the catalyst before and after the reaction, we found that MgO would enter the wall and pores of the support, resulting in increased pore size and decreased specific surface area. Ni and MgO were combined to form NiO–MgO solid solution active centers, which enhanced the catalytic reforming performance. Moreover, more MgO loading increased the alkaline strength of the catalytic surface, enhanced the adsorption of CO2, and improved the resistance to carbon deposition. This study revealed the feasibility of replacing Ni with MgO and the potential mechanism of maintaining similar catalytic performance. This study also laid the theoretical foundation for the industrial application of nickel-based catalysts.

Graphical abstract: Catalytic characteristics of a Ni–MgO/HZSM-5 catalyst for steam reforming of toluene

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
15 Mar 2020
Accepted
27 May 2020
First published
02 Jun 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Adv., 2020,10, 20872-20881

Catalytic characteristics of a Ni–MgO/HZSM-5 catalyst for steam reforming of toluene

W. Wu, Q. Fan, B. Yi, B. Liu and R. Jiang, RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 20872 DOI: 10.1039/D0RA02403A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements