ZnCrXFe2-XO4 (X = 0–2) porous powder prepared through self-combustion glycine nitrate process and applied to methyl alcohol steam reforming for production of pure hydrogen

Abstract

Climate change, global warming, and energy crisis have become an important problem due to the environmental impact of fossil fuels. Hence, alternate energy source is needed for environmental remediation. One such source could be hydrogen (H2). H2 is used as an alternate energy carrier due to it is non-toxic, clean, and efficient. Steam reforming of methyl alcohol (or) methanol (SRM) is a widely available and low-cost hydrogen production method. In this stream-reforming process, mostly commercial zinc-supported catalyst is used, these have some economic defect. Therefore, we need to find alternate suitable catalysts for the SRM process. In this study, ZnCrXFe2-XO4 (X = 0–2) porous catalyst powders of different ratios were synthesized by the glycine nitrate process (GNP) for hydrogen production by SRM. The specific surface areas of the ZnCrXFe2-XO4 powders ranged from 15.75 m2/g to 45.16 m2/g. The ZnCr0.4Fe1.6O4 powder had the highest H2 production without activation, reaching 6850.33 ml STP min−1 g-cat−1 at a reaction temperature of 450 °C. ZnCr0.4Fe1.6O4 porous powders prepared using the GNP method have simple, rapid process steps, low cost, high catalytic activity, and they can be applied to hydrogen fuel cells or other related catalysis applications in the future. The pure hydrogen production performance of these ZnCrXFe2-XO4 catalysts could be of great importance in industry and economic impact.