Glycerol steam reforming over Ni-Fe-Ce/Al2O3 catalyst for hydrogen production

Abstract

In this study, we focused on the catalytic activity, stability, and kinetics of glycerol steam reforming (GSR) for the hydrogen production over Ni-Fe-Ce/Al2O3 catalyst. The GSR was investigated in a quartz fixed-bed reactor with an internal diameter of 6 mm under atmospheric pressure, 18.44-44.56 g h/mol weight of catalyst per molar flow rate of glycerol at the inlet (W (cat)/F (AO) ratio), 20 wt% glycerol solution concentration, and the temperature range 450-550 A degrees C. Ni-Fe-Ce/Al2O3 catalyst was characterized by N-2 physisorption [Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method], X-ray spectroscopy, temperature-programmed reduction with H-2, temperature-programmed desorption of adsorbed CO2 (CO2-TPD), scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. H-2, CO2, CO and CH4 were the main gaseous products with the H-2:CO2 ratio at roughly 2.00. The increase in the temperature and W (cat)/F (AO) ratio caused the expected increase in the glycerol conversion and H-2 yield. All the kinetic parameters for the GSR were obtained in the kinetically controlled reaction regime. The experimental data using the power-law method indicate that the reaction order with respect to glycerol and the activation energy were 0.06 and 32.9 kJ/mol, respectively.