Hydrogen production from catalytic steam reforming of methane: influence of catalyst composition

Abstract

The effect of catalyst support (α-Al2O3, MgO and CaO) and catalyst metal (Ni and Ce) loading in the catalytic steam reforming of methane has been investigated. The catalysts were prepared via a wet impregnation method and examined at temperatures from 500 to 900°C. The results showed that the α-Al2O3 support gave the highest conversion of methane to hydrogen compared to the MgO and CaO supports. The H2 production and CH4 conversion increased at higher temperatures and with higher Ni metal loaded onto the support. There was no significant effect in terms of H2 production and CH4 conversion when >5 wt-% of Ni metal was present in the Ni/Ce/α-Al2O3 catalyst. However, H2 production decreased when the Ni content of the catalyst was >15 wt-%. The addition of Ce in the catalyst reduced the coke formation on the catalyst. The 5Ni/10Ce/α-Al2O3 catalyst was effective at high temperature (>900°C). The 5Ni/10Ce/α-Al2O3 catalyst was also found to be the most efficient catalyst in relation to the highest H2 production and CH4 conversion for the steam reforming of CH4 at 800°C.