Ethanol steam reforming over Ni-Cu/Al2O3-MyOz (M = Si, La, Mg, and Zn) catalysts

Ni-based catalysts doped with copper additives were studied on their role in ethanol steam reforming reaction. The effects of Cu content, support species involving Al2O3-SiO2, Al2O3-MgO, Al2O3-ZnO, and Al2O3-La2O3, on the catalytic performance were studied. Characterizations by TPR, XRD, NH3-TPD, XPS, and TGA indicated that catalysts 30Ni5Cu/Al2O3-MgO and 30Ni5Cu/Al2O3-ZnO have much higher H2 selectivity than 30Ni5Cu/Al2O3-SiO2, as well as good coke resistance. H2 selectivity for 30Ni5Cu/Al2O3-MgO catalyst was 73.3% at 450 °C and increased to 94.0% at 600 °C, whereas for 30Ni5Cu/Al2O3-ZnO catalyst, the H2 selectivity was 63.6% at 450 °C and 95.2% at 600 °C. These Al2O3-MgO and Al2O3-ZnO supported Ni-Cu bimetallic catalysts may have important applications in the production of hydrogen by ethanol steam reforming reactions.