Evaluation of Durability Performance of a Ru/MgO Catalyst for Ammonia Decomposition at an on-Site Hydrogen Fueling Station

Abstract

Since ammonia (NH3) decomposition catalysts for on-site hydrogen fueling stations must possess at least 10 years of durability, an activity/durability evaluation technique that can estimate catalyst activity after several thousands of hours was developed based on short-term durability tests in the laboratory. It consists of a series of repetitive activity/durability tests: (a) thermal treatments in NH3 at a predetermined endurance temperature for a given time, followed by (b) activity measurements at a reaction temperature of 500 °C. The technique was utilized for accelerated-deterioration durability evaluation of a Ru/MgO catalyst. It was discovered that the NH3 conversion decreases almost linearly, as a function of the endurance time at all endurance temperatures. Furthermore, the Arrhenius equation was employed to explore the relationship between the deterioration rate and endurance temperature. This technique can be considered a crucial tool for predicting the durability of NH3 decomposition catalysts employed in H2 fueling stations.