Catalytic properties of Rh/CeO2/SiO2 for synthesis gas production from biomass by catalytic partial oxidation of tar

Performance of Rh/CeO2/SiO2 in the partial oxidation of tar from the pyrolysis of wood biomass (architectural salvage) was investigated and compared with various materials such as steam reforming Ni catalyst, active clay, USY zeolite, MS-13X, dolomite, alumina, silica sand, fluorite and non-catalyst. Rh/CeO2/SiO2 and the steam reforming Ni catalyst exhibited much higher performance than any other materials in terms of hydrogen production and the amount of tar. Therefore, the performance of Rh/CeO2/SiO2 and steam reforming Ni catalyst was particularly compared. From the result on the dependence of reaction temperature, equivalence ratio, and biomass feeding rate, Rh/CeO2/SiO2 exhibited higher performance than the Ni catalyst, especially in terms of tar and coke amount. Furthermore, Rh/CeO2/SiO2 was also more stable than the Ni catalyst. The catalyst deactivation can be related to the amount of coke deposition. The results indicate that Rh/CeO2/SiO2 has high resistance to coke formation, and this is related to higher combustion activity of Rh/CeO2/SiO2 than the Ni catalyst. Furthermore, from the TPR profiles, Rh/CeO2/SiO2 had higher reducibility than the Ni catalyst. The combination of high combustion activity with high reducibility and reforming activity can be related to high performance of tar conversion in the fluidized bed reactor.