Abstract
Ni/SiO2 (Ni/SF) catalysts were prepared by electrospinning of the SF followed by impregnation. The performance of the Ni/SF catalysts for hydrogen production from ethanol steam reforming at various conditions was investigated in comparison with a conventional Ni/silica porous (Ni/SP) catalyst. The influence of the Ni/SF catalyst preparation methods on the catalytic activity and stability in ethanol steam reforming was also studied. The catalysts were prepared by three different preparation techniques: impregnation (IM), deposition precipitation (DP) and strong electrostatic adsorption (SEA). The Ni/SF catalyst exhibited higher performances and stability than the Ni/SP catalyst. The H2 yields of 55% and 47% were achieved at 600 °C using the Ni/SF and Ni/SP catalysts, respectively. The preparation methods had a significant effect on the catalytic activity and stability of the Ni/SF catalyst, where that prepared by the SEA method had a smaller Ni particle size and higher dispersion, and also exhibited the highest catalytic activity and stability compared to the Ni/SF catalysts prepared by IM and DP methods. The maximum H2 yield produced from the catalyst prepared by SEA was 65%, while that from the catalysts prepared by DP and IM were 60% and 55%, respectively, under the same conditions. The activity of the fiber catalysts prepared by SEA, DP and IM remained almost constant at all times during a 16 h stability test.
Highlights
Hydrogen (H2 ) is generally recognized as an alternative energy source to replace fossil fuels, as it can be directly utilized in a fuel cell to generate electricity
The actual contents of Ni measured by energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) are shown in sample was 8 wt.%, which was a little lower than the theoretical composition because Ni was washed by water in the filtration step
It should be mentioned that some other additional techniques, such as inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP) and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) would be required to ensure the true quantification of Ni
Summary
Hydrogen (H2 ) is generally recognized as an alternative energy source to replace fossil fuels, as it can be directly utilized in a fuel cell to generate electricity. Porous silica (SP) is commonly used as a support for Ni catalysts in the ESR due to its high specific surface area [8,9]. Reubroycharoen et al [13] have prepared a fibrous Ni/SiO2 catalyst for the steam reforming of glycerol They reported that the fibrous catalyst exhibited high catalytic activity and stability. It has been reported that the catalytic durability of catalysts is strongly dependent on the metal particle size, metal dispersion and shape of the catalyst/support. Traditional preparation methods, such as impregnation (IM), have been widely used for the preparation of Ni-based catalysts. The influence of the preparation method (IM, DP and SEA) on the catalytic activity and stability of the Ni/SF catalyst was investigated
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