Hydrogen production from methanol-steam reforming at low temperature over Cu–Zn/ZrO2-doped Al2O3

Abstract

The activities of new Cu–Zn-based catalysts over Al2O3-based supports were evaluated in a tubular reactor at the temperature range of 200–300 °C and 1 atm in a continuous mode. The physical and chemical properties of catalysts were characterized using XRD, TPR, BET surface area, SEM–EDS, and XAS. At 200 °C, Cu–Zn over ZrO2-doped Al2O3 prepared by impregnation with an addition of urea can exhibit the hydrogen yield up to 90.3 % while the yield of impregnated Cu–Zn over γ-Al2O3 is only 28.2 %. The study of support effect indicates that ZrO2-doped Al2O3 support can increase the specific copper surface area and boost the activity of the catalyst. The catalyst development from this study can lead to a novel catalyst for low-temperature methanol-steam reforming to prevent the catalyst sintering.