Hydrogen production from methanol steam reforming over Al2O3- and ZrO2-modified CuOZnOGa2O3 catalysts

New CuOZnOxGa2O3-Al2O3 and CuOZnOxGa2O3-ZrO2 (CuZnxGaAl, CuZnxGaZr) catalysts with different Ga contents were prepared and tested in the methanol steam reforming reaction (MSR) under stoichiometric methanol/water = 1 mol ratio (S/C = 1) at 523 K and 548 K. Addition of Al2O3 or ZrO2 components increases the surface area and modifies the reducibility of CuOZnOGa2O3 catalysts; the CuZnxGaZr systems showed the highest reducibility. The performance of CuOZnOGa2O3-based catalysts for MSR is improved by the presence of ZrO2 promoter. CuZn3GaZr catalyst showed a high performance for MSR at 523 K and 548 K under stoichiometric conditions (S/C = 1). The catalyst resulted highly stable and selective for H2 production, with formation of less than 0.3% mol of CO at 523 K. CO is produced as a secondary by-product through the reverse water gas shift reaction. The new catalysts show high resistance to carbon formation at the temperatures analyzed under stoichiometric conditions (S/C = 1).