Abstract
A catalytic screening was performed to determine the effect of the support on the performance of an Au–Cu based system for the removal of CO from an actual syngas. First, a syngas was obtained from reforming of ethanol. Then, the reformer outlet was connected to a second reactor, where Au–Cu catalysts supported on several single and dual metal oxides (i.e., CeO2, SiO2, ZrO2, Al2O3, La2O3, Fe2O3, CeO2-SiO2, CeO2-ZrO2, and CeO2-Al2O3) were evaluated. AuCu/CeO2 was the most active catalyst due to an elevated oxygen mobility over the surface, promoting CO2 formation from adsorption of C–O* and OH− intermediates on Au0 and CuO species. However, its lower capacity to release the surface oxygen contributes to the generation of stable carbon deposits, which lead to its rapid deactivation. On the other hand, AuCu/CeO2-SiO2 was more stable due to its high surface area and lower formation of formate and carbonate intermediates, mitigating carbon deposits. Therefore, use of dual supports could be a promising strategy to overcome the low stability of AuCu/CeO2. The results of this research are a contribution to integrated production and purification of H2 in a compact system.
Highlights
Synthesis gas is used as a chemical building block in the synthesis of commodity chemicals and for energy applications
In a previous study [20], we evaluated Au–Cu bimetallic catalysts supported on CeO2 for carbon monoxide (CO) removal from a syngas obtained from ethanol steam reforming (ESR)
The use of dual metal oxides has been proposed as a strategy to overcome the deficiencies of single supports [21]
Summary
Synthesis gas (syngas) is used as a chemical building block in the synthesis of commodity chemicals and for energy applications. Syngas can be used in combustion processes [1], gas turbines [2], or hydrogen fuel cells (H2 -FC) [3] to produce energy. The syngas composition varies depending on the production source, but mostly contains H2 , carbon monoxide (CO), and light hydrocarbons. Bioethanol reforming is one of the most used pathways to produce syngas due to its high yield to H2 [5]. In a previous study [6], we obtained a syngas containing H2 , CO, CO2 , CH4 , and H2 O from ethanol steam reforming (ESR) using a RhPt/CeO2 -SiO2 catalyst. Syngas production remained stable for 72 h of continuous operation and on/off cycles
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