Production of hydrogen by steam reforming of phenol over Ni/Al2O3-ash catalysts

Abstract

An improved method for hydrogen production by the steam reforming of phenol over novel fly ash-based catalysts is investigated. The Ni/Al 2 O 3 -ash catalysts are prepared by an equal-volume impregnation method and characterized by XRD, FESEM, BET and H 2 -TPR techniques. The effects of various process parameters including mixing ratio of fly ash, temperature, support, gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) and steam-to-carbon molar ratio (S/C) on the catalytic activity are investigated. The results show that fly ash mixing at 50 wt% and choosing γ-Al 2 O 3 as the support own the best performance. A maximum hydrogen yield of 83.8% is achieved at 450 °C with a S/C of 10 and a GHSV of 4968 h −1 with a maximum phenol conversion of 98.6%. The stability of the Ni-ash1-γA1 catalyst is further investigated and it is shown to continuously and stably react for more than 20 h at 450 °C with excellent catalytic reaction stability. • Ni/Al 2 O 3 -ash catalysts are prepared for phenol steam reforming to produce hydrogen. • Fly ash mixing at 50 wt% on the oxide support γ-Al 2 O 3 exhibits good performance. • An optimum hydrogen yield of 83.8% is produced at 450 °C. • A phenol conversion of 98.6% is achieved with a S/C of 10 and GHSV of 4968 h −1 . • Ni-ash1-γA1 catalysts react stably for more than 20 h at 450 °C.