Hydrogen production from steam reforming of glycerol over Ni/CeZrO catalysts

• Ni/CeZrO catalysts for glycerol steam reforming were prepared.
• High hydrogen yield with low CO and methane content was obtained.
• Ni/CeZrO with 77.3% Ce has good resistance to carbon deposition.

Ni catalysts supported on the CeZrO solid solution with different compositions were prepared and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, N2 physical adsorption, H2 chemisorption, temperature programmed reduction, and temperature programmed oxidation. Hydrogen production from the steam reforming of glycerol over these catalysts was investigated. Among the catalysts, Ni/CeZrO-3 with 77.3% Ce content shows the highest conversion of glycerol and selectivity of H2 as well as the best stability during the reaction. This could be due to the fact that Ni/CeZrO-3 has the highest metal dispersion which can prevent or minimize the carbon formation on the surface of the catalyst. On the other hand, the catalyst could generate the most mobile oxygen species during reaction, thus, decoking activity will likely be enhanced through the participation of the lattice oxygen. The effects of reaction temperature, H2O/glycerol molar ratio, and the feed flow rate on the steam reforming of glycerol over Ni/CeZrO-3 were also examined.