Development of a new bi-functional steam reforming/water-gas shift catalyst for production of hydrogen in a membrane reactor

•Ni–Cu/CeO2–La2O3 catalysts are more active for SMR and WGS at 550 °C and 1 atm than commercial catalysts on an active site.•CH4 conversion rate increases by 128% over the Ni–Cu catalysts compared with that of commercial catalysts for SRM.•CO conversion rate increases by a factor of 8.4 on the Ni–Cu catalysts compared with that of commercial catalysts for WGS.

Two bi-functional catalysts were developed and experimentally tested at 550 °C and atmospheric pressure to determine the activity for both steam reforming of methane (SRM) and water-gas shift (WGS) reactions. The compositions of the catalysts are 0.8wt%Cu-3.0wt%Ni (CR1) and 2.4wt%Cu-1.5wt%Ni (CR2) supported on CeO2–La2O3 (Ce/La = 2.33). The feed gases consist of CH4/H2O = 1:2.8 for SRM and CO/H2O = 1:3 for WGS reaction. The catalysts used in this study have been more active for both reactions on an active site basis than their counterpart commercial catalysts. The CH4 conversion rate increases by 128% over CR1 and by 36.7% over CR2 respectively, compared with that of the commercial reforming catalyst (RR) for SRM. Also, the CO conversion rate increases by a factor of 8.4 over CR1 and 3.7 over CR2 respectively, compared with that of the commercial high temperature water-gas shift catalyst (HT2) for WGS. The good dispersion of Cu and Ni species in the CeO2–La2O3 support and their interaction with the support could contribute to their enhanced performance.