Sustainable H₂ production from ethanol steam reforming over a macro-mesoporous Ni/Mg-Al-O catalytic monolith

Abstract

A macro-meso-porous monolithic Ni-based catalyst was prepared via an impregnation route using polystyrene foam as the template and then used in the steam reforming of ethanol to produce a H₂-rich gas. The Ni/Mg-Al catalyst has a hierarchically macro-meso-porous structure as indicated by photographs and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The surface area of the catalyst was 230 m²∙g^-1 and the Ni dispersion was 5.62%. Compared to the pelletized sample that was prepared without a template, the macro-meso-porous Ni/Mg-Al monolith exhibited superior reactivity in terms of H₂ production and also had lower CH₄ yields at 700ºC and 800ºC. Furthermore, the monolithic catalyst maintained excellent activity and H₂ selectivity after 100-h on-stream at 700^oC, as well as good resistance to coking and metal sintering.

Keywords

macroporous Ni-based catalyst / monolith / hydrogen production / ethanol steam reforming

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