Hydrogen production by biomass gasification in supercritical water with bimetallic Ni–M/γAl2O3 catalysts (M = Cu, Co and Sn)

Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of wet biomass is a very promising technology for hydrogen energy and the utilization of biomass resources. Ni-based catalysts are effective in catalyzing SCWG of original biomass and organic compounds for hydrogen production. In this paper, hydrogen production by SCWG of glucose over alumina-supported nickel catalysts modified with Cu, Co and Sn was studied. The bimetallic Ni–M (M = Cu, Co and Sn) catalysts were prepared by a co-impregnation method and tested in an autoclave reactor at 673 K with a feedstock concentration of 9.09 wt.%. XRD, XRF, N2 adsorption/desorption, SEM and TGA were adopted to investigate the changes of chemical properties between Ni and Ni–M catalysts and the deactivation mechanism of catalysts. According to the experimental results, the hydrogen yield followed this order: Ni–Cu/γAl2O3 > Ni/γAl2O3 > Ni–Co/γAl2O3 > Ni–Sn/γAl2O3. The results show that Cu could improve the catalytic activity of Ni catalyst in reforming reaction of methane to produce hydrogen in SCWG. In addition, Cu can mitigate the sintering of alumina detected by SEM. Co was found to be an excellent promoter of Ni-based catalyst in relation to hydrogen selectivity.

► Bimetallic Ni–Cu, Ni–Co and Ni–Sn carried on alumina as catalysts.
► Catalysts for supercritical water gasification of biomass.
► Cu could enhance the reforming reaction of methane to produce more hydrogen.
► Co greatly enhanced the hydrogen selectivity of Ni catalyst.