Glycerol steam reforming on supported Ru-based catalysts for hydrogen production for fuel cells

•Ru and Ru–Me (Me = Fe, Co, Ni, Mo) catalysts were investigated for glycerol reforming.•The catalysts were dispersed on Y2O3, Al2O3, and Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 supports.•Steam reforming of glycerol was carried out for hydrogen production.•Y2O3 and Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 supports markedly increased H2 production rate and selectivity.•Mo promoter enhanced stability preventing sintering of the catalysts.

Glycerol steam reforming on Ru and Ru–Me (Me = Fe, Co, Ni, and Mo) catalysts supported on yttria, ceria–zirconia, and γ-alumina is studied at high temperatures for the production of hydrogen for fuel cell applications. The nature of the support notably affects the catalytic properties of these catalysts resulting in significant enhancements of the H2 production turnover rate and product selectivity on the reducible yttria and ceria–zirconia supported Ru-based catalysts via facilitation of the water–gas shift reaction. The acidic γ-alumina supported Ru-based catalysts demonstrate a low H2 production turnover rate with a high CO product selectivity and also favor the formation of C1–C2 hydrocarbons. Differently, the promotion effects due to Fe, Co, Ni, and Mo on the bimetallic Ru–Me catalysts are limited with only small increases in the glycerol conversion turnover rate for the Ru–Ni, Ru–Mo, and Ru–Co catalysts. The alumina supported Ru-based catalysts are deactivated by a significant extent with increasing on-stream time due to coking. The carbon deposition is insignificant on the yttria and ceria-zirconia supported catalysts, but moderate deactivation occurs due to sintering of the dispersed metal clusters. Influenced by the surface MoOx species that hamper sintering of the surface metal clusters and by the Y2O3 support that prevents coking on the catalyst, the Ru–Mo/Y2O3 catalysts exhibit superior catalytic stability against deactivation.