Char-Supported Nano Iron Catalyst for Water-Gas-Shift Reaction: Hydrogen Production from Coal/Biomass Gasification

This paper reports a novel char-supported nano iron catalyst prepared from the pyrolysis and gasification of iron-loaded Victorian brown coal. The catalyst samples were examined using X-ray diffraction and TEM. Iron is highly dispersed in the char matrix as magnetite with a particle size smaller than 50 nm. The catalyst is found experimentally to be very active for the water–gas-shift reaction at temperatures as low as 300°C. A conceptual process is proposed for the integrated catalytic production of hydrogen based on the gasification of solid fuels such as coal and biomass. Within the proposed process, the char-supported nano Fe catalyst in a moving-bed reactor has the potential to carry out integrated functions of chemical heat pumping, hot gas cleaning, pollutant (particularly NH3 and H2S) abatement and water–gas-shift reaction catalysis.