Self-sustained electrochemical promotion catalysts for partial oxidation reforming of heavy hydrocarbons

This paper presents a new self-sustained electrochemical promotion (SSEP) catalyst. The SSEP catalyst consists of microscopic selective anodic (Ni–Cu–CeO2) and cathodic (La0.9Sr0.1MnO3) phases that are coupled via microscopic oxygen ion conduction (yttria-stabilized zirconia, YSZ) and electronic conduction (Ni–Cu) phases. A series of partial oxidation reforming (POXR) tests on n-pentadecane in the temperature range between 450 and 650 °C were conducted in order to verify the effect of SSEP. The SSEP catalyst was compared with non-SSEP catalysts in short of one or more components. The performance of the SSEP catalyst was better than that of the non-SSEP catalysts in the entire temperature range. At 450 and 500 °C, the fuel conversion and yield of the SSEP catalysts were respectively 2–4 folds and hundreds of folds better than those of the non-SSEP catalysts and a commercial Pt–CeO2 catalyst under the same operation conditions. These results demonstrate that the concept of SSEP catalysts can be employed to improve catalytic POXR of heavy hydrocarbons.

► We propose a concept of self-sustained electrochemical promotion (SSEP) catalysts.
► We synthesized SSEP catalysts containing 4 microscopic phases without noble metal.
► The catalyst was characterized with SEM, XRD, and surface area measurements.
►  High conversion and yield for C15H32 reforming were obtained at 450–650 °C.
► We prove that SSEP enables the high catalytic activity.