Hydrogen-rich gas production from ethanol steam reforming over Ni/Ga/Mg/Zeolite Y catalysts at mild temperature

In order to reduce the coke formation over a conventional Ni/γ-Al2O4 catalyst and increase the activity at low temperature, we used the impregnation approach to synthesize MgO (30.0 wt.%)/Zeolite Y catalysts loaded with bimetallic Ni(10.0 wt.%)/Ga(10.0–30.0 wt.%) and study the steam-reforming reactions of ethanol. The Ga-loaded catalyst impregnated between the Ni and Mg components exhibits significantly higher reforming reactivity compared to the conventional Ni/Mg/Zeolite Y catalyst. The main products from steam reforming over the Ni/Ga/Mg/Zeolite Y catalyst are only H2 and CH4 at above 550 °C, and the catalytic performances differ according to the amount of Ga. The H2 production and ethanol conversion are maximized at 87% and 100%, respectively, over Ni(10)/Ga(30)/Mg(30)/Zeolite Y at 700 °C for 1 h at CH3CH2OH:H2O = 1:3 and a gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 6740 h−1, and the high performance is maintained for up to 59 h.

► The Ga-loaded catalyst impregnated between the Ni and Mg components exhibited significantly higher reforming reactivity.
► The catalytic performances differed according to the amount of Ga.
► The H2 production and ethanol conversion were maximized at 87% and 100%, respectively.