Enhancement of hydrogen energy from Casuarina equisetifolia using NiO–Pr2O3/TiO2 and NiO/TiO2 nano composites

Abstract

Hydrogen is the eco friendly fuel that can supplement the requirements for power generation.Nickel based nano composites attracted much researchers due to its wide applications in various fields viz., solar cells, capacitors, batteries and aerospace engineering. NiO-Pr2O3/TiO2 and NiO/TiO2 nano composites have high catalytic activity for producer gas conversion by the process of decomposition of tar molecules generated during biomass gasification. In this work, we have investigated the growth of NiO-Pr2O3/TiO2 and NiO/TiO2 nano composites by the method of deposition precipitation technique. Structural investigation represented that the TiO2 possess cubic structure with preferential orientation along (111) plane. Morphological features denoted the formation of non agglomerated grains. The sizes of the grains with nanometer scale have been identified by transmission electron microscopy. The surface area and porosity nature of the nano composites has been analyzed using Branauer Elmer Teller and Barrett-Joyner - Halenda techniques, respectively. The estimated value of surface area is found to be 110 and 81 m2g-1 for NiO-Pr2O3/TiO2 and NiO/TiO2 nano composites, respectively. The increment in the content of hydrogen present in the producer gas has been investigated using catalytic tar cracking method. The NiO-Pr2O3/TiO2 nano composite exhibited better tar cracking with higher content of hydrogen conversion than NiO/TiO2.