Nanosized catalysts for the production of hydrogen by methanol steam reforming

Nanoparticulate ternary oxides (perovskites and spinels) and mixtures of oxides have been prepared via a template technique using a sodium silicate-based silica xerogel as template. The oxides prepared by this method were tested as catalysts for the methanol steam reforming reaction at 250 °C and a very high space velocity (WHSV = 52–57 h−1). Copper-based catalysts (CuMn2O4 and CuCr2O4 spinels or CuO/CeO2 and CuO/ZnO) exhibit a high activity and selectivity for the steam reforming process, whereas the other formulations employed (LaFeO3, LaMnO3, NiMn2O4) are not active in the experimental conditions of this work. The favourable effect of increasing the surface area on the activity of the catalysts is clearly observed for CuMn2O4, which exhibits the highest initial reaction rate and a selectivity to CO2 formation of over 90%. The catalytic activity values of the copper-based catalysts are similar to or greater than those found in the literature for common methanol steam reforming catalysts including noble metal-based catalysts. Deactivation of the catalysts seems to be independent of the preparation method and can be attributed to the concomitant effect of coke deposition and sintering.