Nanosized catalysts for the production of hydrogen by methanol steam reforming

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cattod.2006.05.063
• Publication Date: 2006-07-04T17:10:51Z
• Authors: T. Valdés-Solís; G. Marbán; A.B. Fuertes
• Keywords: Industrial catalysts; Space velocity

Abstract Nanoparticulate ternary oxides (perovskites and spinels) and mixtures of oxides have been prepared via a template technique using a sodium silicate-based silica xerogel as template. The oxides prepared by this method were tested as catalysts for the methanol steam reforming reaction at 250 °C and a very high space velocity (WHSV = 52–57 h −1 ). Copper-based catalysts (CuMn 2 O 4 and CuCr 2 O 4 spinels or CuO/CeO 2 and CuO/ZnO) exhibit a high activity and selectivity for the steam reforming process, whereas the other formulations employed (LaFeO 3 , LaMnO 3 , NiMn 2 O 4 ) are not active in the experimental conditions of this work. The favourable effect of increasing the surface area on the activity of the catalysts is clearly observed for CuMn 2 O 4 , which exhibits the highest initial reaction rate and a selectivity to CO 2 formation of over 90%. The catalytic activity values of the copper-based catalysts are similar to or greater than those found in the literature for common methanol steam reforming catalysts including noble metal-based catalysts. Deactivation of the catalysts seems to be independent of the preparation method and can be attributed to the concomitant effect of coke deposition and sintering.