Sulfur-tolerant Pt/Gd2O3–CeO2–Al2O3 catalyst for high efficiency H2 production from autothermal reforming of retail gasoline

Pt/CeO2–Al2O3 catalysts with and without Gd2O3 additive were prepared by stepwise incipient wetness impregnation (IWI) method. The catalysts were tested for autothermal reforming (ATR) of retail gasoline containing 158–500 ppm sulfur under the optimal reaction conditions: 800 °C, gasoline WHSV of 0.9 h−1 and a H2O/O2/C molar ratio of 5/0.35/1. It is found that the content of Gd2O3 and impregnation procedure for catalyst preparation significantly affected the catalyst performance. Pt catalyst supported on the Al2O3 that was pre-impregnated with Ce and Gd nitrates orderly to 15 wt% CeO2 and 1.6 wt% Gd2O3 was the best catalyst for ATR of gasoline with high reactivity and excellent stability. Within 1000-h ATR of retail gasoline over this catalyst, gasoline conversion was slowly decreased to 95% after 300-h run and then remained at ∼95% throughout the test, while H2 fraction in reformate remained at ∼67% with a CH4 fraction less than 0.6%. It is revealed that modification of Al2O3 with CeO2 first and Gd2O3 then endowed the produced Pt catalyst with many advantageous effects such as significantly improved and stabilized Pt–CeO2 interaction, greatly attenuated Pt-sintering, and enhanced oxygen ion conductivity of bulk CeO2.