Steam reforming of hydrocarbon fuels over M (Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn)–Ce bimetal catalysts supported on Al2O3

Abstract

A series of transition metal M (Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) modified Ce–Al2O3 bimetal catalysts with a certain amount of M (3.0%) were prepared using the incipient-wetness impregnation method, and the as-prepared catalysts were characterized by using automatic adsorption instrument, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Infrared spectroscopy (IR), Temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR) and Scanning electron microscope-Energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS). Steam reforming of n-decane over such M/Ce–Al2O3 catalysts was investigated in a fixed bed reactor under high temperature. Significantly, the catalytic reforming activities over series M/Ce–Al2O3 bimetal catalysts were evidently heightened compared with the corresponding Ce–Al2O3 catalyst. Meanwhile, the bimetal catalysts exhibited different hydrogen selectivity and anti-carbon deposition ability which were greatly depending on the modified metal M. Ni/Ce–Al2O3 performed better catalytic reforming activity, which was in accordance with the synergy between Ni and Ce–Al2O3, also the larger surface area. The valuable information indicated in this work is that based on the special characters of Ni/Ce–Al2O3, bimetal particles can be supported on Al2O3, which should be an effective approach to maintain both catalytic activities and thermal stability.