Hydrogen production from hydrocarbons over Rh supported on Ce-based oxides for automotive applications

• H2 may be produced on board by catalytic reforming of exhaust gas fuel.
• Rh on ceria-based supports are efficient catalysts for fuel reforming by exhaust gas.
• Best supports for high thermal stability are composed of both ceria and alumina.
• High hydrogen yields for high rhodium dispersion and limited sintering.

On-board hydrogen production by reforming of fuel in the exhaust gas recirculation loop allows increasing the engine yield, thus decreasing the fuel consumption, and the formation of pollutants such as NOx. Various catalysts based on Rh supported on cerium-based oxides with alumina were prepared and characterized. Their catalytic performances were evaluated in the reforming of isooctane, chosen as model molecule, in the presence of a gas mixture of composition representative of the exhaust gas, i.e. H2O, CO2, O2 and N2. It was shown that the best performances in terms of hydrogen yield were obtained with the supports containing both ceria, in high amounts, and alumina, due to the high thermal stability of the support, the high metal dispersion and the limited sintering.

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