Hydrogen rich gas production via supercritical water gasification of sugarcane bagasse using unpromoted and copper promoted Ni/CNT nanocatalysts

Abstract

Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of sugarcane bagasse (SB) was performed in the presence of unpromoted and copper promoted carbon nanotubes supported nickel (Ni/CNTs) nanocatalyst prepared with impregnation technique. The Ni/CNTs and Ni–Cu/CNTs catalysts were characterized using FT-IR, ICP, BET, XRD, and TEM techniques. Results showed that 20wt.% nickel over CNTs (20%-Ni/CNTs) had the best performance, on the SCWG of SB, in terms of H2 conversion with the yield of 21.8 (mmol H2/g of SB) comparing with the rest of the Ni/CNTs catalysts. Promotion of Ni/CNTs catalysts with copper increased the total gas and hydrogen yield by 14.4% and 14.7%. The yield of methane is decreased by 25.9%.