Aqueous phase reforming of glycerol over Ni-based catalysts for hydrogen production

Aqueous phase reforming of glycerol over Ni-based catalysts for hydrogen production was carried out at 225 degrees C, 23 bar and LHSV = 4 h(-1). The Ni-based catalyst was prepared by an incipient wetness impregnation method. The catalysts before and after the reaction were characterized by N2 physisorption, CO chemisorption, XRD, TPR, SEM and TEM techniques. It was found that Ni(20 wt%)-Co(3 wt%)/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst showed higher glycerol conversion and hydrogen selectivity than Ni(20 wt%)/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst. There are no major changes in Ni particles after the reaction over Ni-Co/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst. The results suggest that the Ni-Co/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst can be applied to the hydrogen production system using APR of glycerol.     

Steam reforming of glycerol into hydrogen over nano-size Ni-based hydrotalcite-like catalysts

Steam reforming (SR) of glycerol for the production of hydrogen was investigated over the nano-sized Ni-based catalysts. The Ni-based catalysts were prepared by solid phase crystallization and impregnation methods, and characterized by N2 physisorption, CO chemisorption, XRD, SEM, and TEM techniques. The Ni/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst showed higher conversion and H2 selectivity. However, it was slowly deactivated due to the carbon formation on the surface of catalyst and the sintering. It was found that the Ni based hydrotalcite-like catalyst (spc-Ni/MgAl) showed higher catalytic activity to prevent carbon formation than Ni/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst in the SR of glycerol.     

Effect of controlling nano-sized copper by silver in copper-based catalyst on catalytic oxidation of toluene

Catalytic oxidation of VOC (toluene) over a copper based catalyst was carried out to assess its properties and performance. The Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) method, X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature programmed reduction (TPR), N2O pulse titration and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were used to characterize a series of 5 wt% Cu/gamma-Al2O3 catalysts modified with silver. The experimental results revealed that the addition of silver to 5 wt% Cu/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst highly enhanced its catalytic activity. With increasing addition amount of silver, the light-off curve for complete oxidation of toluene shifted to lower temperature. In addition, the increase of the addition amount of silver caused the copper particle size of 5 wt% Cu/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst to gradually increase. Subsequently, it demonstrated that the increase in the copper particle size is closely associated with the increase in catalytic activity.     

Catalytic stepwise nitrate hydrogenation in batch-recycle fixed-bed reactors

Pd (1.0 wt.%)-Cu (0.3 wt.%) bimetallic and Pd (1.0 wt.%) monometallic catalysts were synthesized by means of incipient-wetness impregnation technique and deposited on alumina spheres (dp=1.7 mm). The prepared catalysts were tested at T=298 K and p(H2)=1.0 bar in the integrated process of catalytic liquid-phase hydrogenation of aqueous nitrate solutions, in which the denitration step was carried out consecutively in separate, single-flow fixed-bed reactor units operating in a batch-recycle mode. In the first reactor packed with a Pd-Cu bimetallic catalyst, nitrate ions were transformed to nitrites at pH 12.5 with a selectivity as high as 93%; the rest was found in the form of ammonium ions. Liquid-phase nitrite hydrogenation to nitrogen in the second reactor unit packed with a Pd monometallic catalyst was conducted at low pH values of 3.7 and 4.5, respectively. Although these values are well below the pHpzc of examined catalyst (6.1), which assured that the nitrite reduction was carried out over a positively charged catalyst surface, up to 15% (23% in the presence of 5.0 g/l NaCl in the solution) of initial nitrite content was converted to undesired ammonium ions. Since a negligible amount of these species (below 0.5mg/l) was produced at identical operating conditions over a powdered Pd/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst, it is believed that the enhanced production of ammonium ions observed in the second fixed-bed reactor is due to the build-up of pH gradients in liquid-filled pores of spherical catalyst particles. Both Pd-Cu bimetallic and Pd monometallic catalysts were chemically resistant in the investigated range of pH values.     

Influence of the nanoscale support on carbon deposition and carbon elimination over Ni/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst for CH4 conversion

Characteristics of carbon deposition by CH4 and carbon elimination by CO2 over conventional and nanoscale Ni/gamma-Al2O3 catalysts were investigated by using a pulse reaction, as well as by TGA, TEM, TPO-MS, H2-TPR and H2-chemisorption techniques. It was found that the behaviors of carbon deposition by CH4 decomposition and carbon elimination by CO2 depend on the active metal dispersion and the metal-support interaction. The filamentous carbon was formed on the conventional Ni/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst with low metal dispersion and relatively large particles, this type of filamentous carbon was far from the active centers and difficult to eliminate by CO2. On the other hand, the carbon deposition originated from CH4 decomposition on the nanoscale Ni/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst would mainly cover the surface of active centers, this type of highly active carbon was easily eliminated by CO2 because it is close to the active center Ni atoms. As a result, the improvement of coking-resistance was ascribed to the high metal dispersion and strong metal-support interaction, a model of CH4 decomposition carbon deposition on Ni/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst was proposed.     

The catalytic oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons over supported metal oxide

The catalytic activity of metals (Cu, Mn, Fe, V, Mo, Co, Ni, Zn)/gamma-Al2O3 was investigated to bring about the complete oxidation of benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX). Among them, Cu/gamma-Al2O3 was found to be the most promising catalyst based on activity. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer Emmett Teller method (BET), electron probe X-ray micro analysis (EPMA) and temperature programmed reduction (TPR) by H2 were used to characterize a series of supported copper catalysts. Increasing the calcination temperature resulted in decreasing the specific surface areas of catalysts and, subsequently, the catalytic activity. Copper loadings on gamma-Al2O3 had a great effect on catalytic activity, and 5 wt.% Cu/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst was observed to be the most active, which might be contributed to the well-dispersed copper surface phase. Using TiO2 (anatase), TiO2 (rutile), SiO2 (I) and SiO2 (II) as support instead of gamma-Al2O3, the activity sequence of 5 wt.% Cu with respect to the support was gamma-Al2O3 > TiO2 (rutile) > TiO2 (anatase)>SiO2 (I) > SiO2 (II), and this appeared to be correlated with the distribution of copper on support rather than with the specific surface area of the catalyst. The smaller particle size of copper, due to its high dispersion on support, had a positive effect on catalytic activity. The activity of 5 wt.% Cu/gamma-Al2O3 with respect to the VOC molecule was observed to follow this sequence: toluene > xylene > benzene. Increasing the reactant concentration exerted an inhibiting effect on the catalytic activity.     

Enhancing both selectivity and coking-resistance of a single-atom Pd<Subscript>1</Subscript>/C<Subscript>3</Subscript>N<Subscript>4</Subscript> catalyst for acetylene hydrogenation

Selective hydrogenation is an important industrial catalytic process in chemical upgrading,where Pd-based catalysts are widely used because of their high hydrogenation activities.However,poor selectivity and short catalyst lifetime because of heavy coke formation have been major concerns.In this work,atomically dispersed Pd atoms were successfully synthesized on graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) using atomic layer deposition.Aberration-corrected high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) confirmed the dominant presence of isolated Pd atoms without Pd nanoparticle (NP) formation.During selective hydrogenation of acetylene in excess ethylene,the g-C3N4-supported Pd NP catalysts had strikingly higher ethylene selectivities than the conventional Pd/A12O3 and Pd/SiO2 catalysts.In-situ X-ray photoemission spectroscopy revealed that the considerable charge transfer from the Pd NPs to g-C3N4 likely plays an important role in the catalytic performance enhancement.More impressively,the single-atom Pd1/C3N4 catalyst exhibited both higher ethylene selectivity and higher coking resistance.Our work demonstrates that the single-atom Pd catalyst is a promising candidate for improving both selectivity and coking-resistance in hydrogenation reactions.     

Nanosized Pt-Co catalysts for the preferential CO oxidation

The preferential CO oxidation in the presence of excess hydrogen was studied over Pt-Co/gamma-Al2O3. CO chemisorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX) and temperature programmed reduction (TPR) were conducted to characterize active catalysts. The catalytic activity for CO oxidation and methanation at low temperatures increased with the amounts of cobalt in Pt-Co/gamma-Al2O3. This accompanied the TPR peak shift to lower temperatures. The optimum molar ratio between Co and Pt was determined to be 10. The co-impregnated Pt-Co/gamma-Al2O3 appeared to be superior to Pt/Co/gamma-Al2O3 and Co/Pt/gamma-Al2O3. The reductive pretreatment at high temperature such as 773 K increased the CO2 selectivity over a wide reaction temperature. The bimetallic phase of Pt-Co seems to give rise to high catalytic activity in selective oxidation of CO in H2-rich stream.     

Effect of CeO2 doping on catalytic activity of Fe2O3/gamma-Al2O(3) catalyst for catalytic wet peroxide oxidation of azo dyes

In order to find a catalyst with high activity and stability for catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (CWPO) process under normal condition, with Fe(2)O(3)/gamma-Al(2)O(3) and Fe(2)O(3)-CeO(2)/gamma-Al(2)O(3) catalysts prepared by impregnation method, the effect of CeO(2) doping on the structure and catalytic activity of Fe(2)O(3)/gamma-Al(2)O(3) for catalytic wet peroxide oxidation of azo dyes at 25 degrees C and atmospheric pressure is evaluated using BET, SEM, XRF, XRD, XPS and chemical analysis techniques, and test results show that, better dispersion and smaller size of Fe(2)O(3) crystal can be achieved by adding CeO(2), and the content of chemisorbed oxygen can also be increased on the surface of catalyst. CWPO experimental results indicate that azo dyes in simulated wastewater can be efficiently mineralized and the catalytic activity of Fe(2)O(3)-CeO(2)/gamma-Al(2)O(3) can be increased by about 10% compared with that of Fe(2)O(3)/gamma-Al(2)O(3) because of the promotion of the structural and redox properties of the ferric oxide by ceria doped. Leaching tests indicate that Fe(2)O(3)/gamma-Al(2)O(3) and Fe(2)O(3)-CeO(2)/gamma-Al(2)O(3) are stable with a negligible amount of irons found in the aqueous solution after reaction for 2h. It can therefore be concluded from results and discussion that in comparison with Fe(2)O(3)/gamma-Al(2)O(3), Fe(2)O(3)-CeO(2)/gamma-Al(2)O(3) is a suitable catalyst, which can effectively degrade contaminants at normal temperature and atmospheric pressure.     

The operating performance and products distribution of the catalytic oxidation of methyl-isobutyl-ketone over a Pt/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst

Catalytic oxidation is one of the cost-effective technologies to solve the troublesome volatile organic compounds. This study treated methyl-isobutyl-ketone (MIBK) by a commercial catalyst, Pt/gamma-Al(2)O(3), in a fixed-bed reactor. The effects of operating factors, such as operating temperature, MIBK concentration, space velocity, and O(2) concentration, on the performance of the catalyst were investigated. The products and reactants distributions from the oxidation of MIBK over Pt/gamma-Al(2)O(3) were observed. The results show that the products containing carbon atoms are CO, CO(2), and C(3)H(6)O. Two catalyst life-tests were also carried out to characterize the deactivation effect of MIBK. The result shows that the deactivation effect may be due to the coke on the catalyst surface at 423 K. From the statistical analysis, the operating temperature is the most effective factor on the conversion of MIBK. The catalysts were also characterized by surface area analysis and elemental analysis before and after the test. The results show that the catalytic deactivation may be due to carbon coating. At low temperature (423 K), the phenomenon of carbon coating was more obvious than that at high temperature (573 K). The product distributions from the oxidation of MIBK over Pt/gamma-Al(2)O(3) were analyzed by GC. The results indicate that the C(3)H(6)O is formed from the beginning, presenting a peak at 423 K, 6.54 ppm. The CO concentration also peaked at the same temperature, 6.84 ppm.     

Catalytic activity of CuOn-La2O3/gamma-Al2O3 for microwave assisted ClO2 catalytic oxidation of phenol wastewater

In order to develop a catalyst with high activity and stability for microwave assisted ClO2 catalytic oxidation, we prepared CuOn-La2O3/gamma-Al2O3 by impregnation-deposition method, and determined its properties using BET, XRF, XPS and chemical analysis techniques. The test results show that, better thermal ability of gamma-Al2O3 and high loading of Cu in the catalyst can be achieved by adding La2O3. The microwave assisted ClO2 catalytic oxidation process with CuOn-La2O3/gamma-Al2O3 used as catalyst was also investigated, and the results show that the catalyst has an excellent catalytic activity in treating synthetic wastewater containing 100 mg/L phenol, and 91.66% of phenol and 50.35% of total organic carbon (TOC) can be removed under the optimum process conditions. Compared with no catalyst process, CuOn-La2O3/gamma-Al2O3 can effectively degrade contaminants in short reaction time and with low oxidant dosage, extensive pH range. The comparison of phenol removal efficiency in the different process indicates that microwave irradiation and catalyst work together to oxidize phenol effectively. It can therefore be concluded from results and discussion that CuOn-La2O3/gamma-Al2O3 is a suitable catalyst in microwave assisted ClO2 catalytic oxidation process.     

Production of hydrogen by autothermal reforming of propane over Ni/delta-Al2O3

The performance of Ni/delta-Al2O3 catalyst in propane autothermal reforming (ATR) for hydrogen production was investigated in the present study. The catalysts were characterized using XRD, TEM, and SEM. The activity of the Ni/delta-Al2O3 catalyst manufactured by the water-alcohol method was better than those of the catalysts manufactured by the impregnation and chemical reduction methods. The Ni/delta-Al2O3 catalysts were modified by the addition of promoters such as Mg, La, Ce, and Co, in order to improve their stability and yield. Hydrogen production was the largest for the Ni-Co-CeO2/Al2O3, catalyst.     

Mn、Fe和Cu氧化物在低温等离子体催化氧化甲苯体系中的活性比较

采用等体积浸渍法制备了MnOx/γ-Al2O3、FeOx/γ-Al2O3和CuOx/γ-Al2O3催化剂,测定了不同催化剂在低温等离子体场内分解甲苯的活性,用X射线衍射(XRD)、氢气程序升温还原(H2-TPR)技术对催化剂进行表征。结果表明催化剂分解甲苯的活性的顺序是MnOx/γ-Al2O3>FeOx/γ-Al2O3>CuOx/γ-Al2O3。催化剂分解臭氧的实验表明,不同催化活性组分对臭氧的催化分解性能顺序与对甲苯的分解性能顺序是一致的。MnOx/γ-Al2O3催化剂的Mn负载量对其催化活性有明显影响,Mn的含量为1%(质量分数)时,催化剂的活性最高,当能量密度为19J/L时,其对甲苯催化氧化的转化率接近100%。催化剂表征结果表明当Mn含量为1%(质量分数)时,氧化锰在载体γ-Al2O3上最接近单层分散量,此时活性组分与载体表面的相互结合力最强,在载体上有很好的分散性,从而表现出对甲苯分解的最好性能。     

A comparative study of Ni/Al_2O_3–SiC foam catalysts and powder catalysts for the liquid-phase hydrogenation of benzaldehyde

In this study, Al_2O_3-washcoated SiC(Al_2O_3–SiC) foams and Al_2O_3 powder were employed as the supports of a Ni catalyst for the liquid-phase hydrogenation of benzaldehyde. A series of Ni/Al_2O_3–SiC foam catalysts and Ni/Al_2O_3 powder catalysts with a Ni loading from 10 wt% to 37 wt% of the weight of Al_2O_3 were first prepared by a deposition–precipitation(DP) method. The catalytic activity and recyclability of both kinds of catalysts were then compared. Although it had a smaller accessible surface area with the reactant, the foam catalyst with a Ni loading of 16 wt% exhibited a slightly higher conversion of benzaldehyde after 6 h(of 99.3%) in comparison with the Ni/Al_2O_3 catalyst with identical Ni loading(conversion of 97.5%). When the Ni loading increased from 16 wt% to 37 wt%, the reaction rate obtained with the foam catalyst increased significantly from 0.108 to 0.204 mol L~(-1)h~(-1), whereas the reaction rate obtained with the powder catalyst increased from 0.106 to 0.123 mol L~(-1)h~(-1). Furthermore, the specific activity(moles of benzaldehyde consumed by 1 g min~(-1)of Ni) of the foam catalyst with a Ni loading above 30 wt% was superior to that of the powder catalyst because of its smaller Ni-particle size and higher mass-transfer rate. The foam catalyst displayed a high recyclability as a function of run times owing to the strong interaction between the Ni component and the Al_2O_3 coating. The conversion of benzaldehyde over the foam catalyst remained almost unchanged after being used 8 times. In comparison, a drop of 43% in the conversion of benzaldehyde with the powder catalyst was observed after being used 7 times due to the leaching of the Ni component.     

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes-supported Nickel catalysts for the steam reforming of propane

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-supported nickel catalysts with different metal-loading contents were synthesized trough deposition–precipitation (DP) method for its subsequent performance study on steam reforming reaction of propane. The metal-loading content was set at 5, 10, 20, and 25% of nickel. Results showed that 20 wt% nickel oxide over MWCNTs (20% NiO/MWCNTs) had the best performance, on the propane steam reforming reaction, in terms of H₂ conversion comparing with the rest of the NiO/MWCNTs catalysts (5, 10, 25 wt% Ni) and a nickel over alumina (Ni/Al₂O₃) commercial catalyst. The features of the NiO/MWCNTs catalysts were studied trough FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, N₂ adsorption–desorption isotherms, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy measurements. The results evidenced that optimum relation between Ni content, Ni dispersion, and particle size played a main role in the catalyst performance, rendering the 20% NiO/MWCNT as the most promising, among the catalysts studied, for the steam reforming of propane.     

溶液燃烧法制备Ni-Al2O3催化剂用于CO2-CH4重整研究

采用溶液燃烧法制备了Ni含量为2wt%、4wt%、6wt%、8wt%和10wt%系列催化剂, 并对反应前后催化剂进行N₂吸附-脱附、XRD、H₂-TPR、TPH、Raman、TEM和TG-DTG等表征。与等体积浸渍法(以溶液燃烧法制备的Al₂O₃为载体)制备的催化剂相比, 溶液燃烧法制备的催化剂具有较大的比表面积, 孔径分布可分为2~4.5 nm和4.5~10 nm两段, 属典型的多级孔结构; NiO高度分散在载体上, 与载体具有较强的相互作用, 这种相互作用有利于提高催化剂的稳定性。催化剂210 h稳定性试验表明, 溶液燃烧法制备的Ni含量为8wt%试样的CH₄转化率维持在90%左右, 失活速率仅为0.035%/h, 优于浸渍法制备的相同Ni含量催化剂。     

Selective hydrogenation of acetylene over egg-shell palladium nano-catalyst

A novel egg-shell Pd/PHSNs nano-catalyst was prepared by a wet impregnation method using self-synthesized porous hollow silica nanoparticles (PHSNs) as support and applied in selective hydrogenation of acetylene to remove acetylene from the ethylene feed. By controlling the preparing conditions and calcining temperature, the active metal particles were loaded evenly on the support with a size about 5 nm. Compared with conventional catalysts prepared with solid silica nanoparticles, solid Al2O3 millispheres and a commercial catalyst, the Pd/PHSNs catalyst showed higher acetylene conversion rates at same reaction temperatures, and the porous hollow nano structure of PHSNs allowed smoother diffusion of ethylene molecules within the catalyst matrix so that ethylene could migrate away from the active sites in time to avoid turning into ethane, which resulted in superior ethylene selectivity at high acetylene conversion rates.     

Nitrate reduction in water: influence of the addition of a second metal on the performances of the Pd/CeO(2) catalyst

An attempt is made to improve the catalytic nitrate reduction on Pd/CeO(2) catalysts by the addition of a second metal. The influence of the second metal such as Sn, In and Ag on the Pd/CeO(2) for nitrate reduction is explored. The second metal is introduced over monometallic Pd/CeO(2) by a redox reaction. Pd/CeO(2) is more active than the bimetallic catalysts under pure hydrogen flow. Whereas in presence of CO(2) the monometallic Pd/CeO(2) is inactive for nitrate reduction, bimetallic catalysts are found to be more active than under pure hydrogen flow and also than the monometallic catalyst with a low selectivity towards ammonium ions, undesired product of the reaction. The Pd-Sn/CeO(2) catalyst is comparatively the most suited for nitrate reduction.     

Ni-Fe/γ-Al_2O_3乙醇水蒸汽重整制氢催化剂研究

采用沉淀法制备了一系列不同Fe助剂含量的Ni-Fe/γ-Al_2O_3催化剂.采用XRD、TPR、SEM等手段对催化剂进行表征,发现Fe的加入可以有效地置换出NiAl_2O_4尖晶石中的Ni使之以NiO晶体形式存在.同时,降低了催化剂的还原温度,大大减轻催化剂的团聚现象.催化剂性能测试结果表明,15%Ni-10%Fe/γ-Al_2O_3表现出最好的氢气产率和选择性,650℃时分别为4.71%和68.78%.500℃时对15%Ni-10%Fe/γ-Al_2O_3催化剂进行30h稳定性测试,结果表明,整个阶段氢气的选择性在测试时间段内始终保持在65%左右,没有发现乙烯等副产物.     

Studies on the dehydration of glycerol over niobium catalysts

The dehydration of glycerol over nanosize niobium catalysts was conducted in a stainless steel autoclave reactor. The catalysts were prepared by the calcination of niobium oxalate between 200 and 700 degrees C. Catalysts were characterized by N2 Physisorption, XRD and TPD of ammonia to investigate the effect of the calcination temperature and water on catalytic performance, catalysts' structures and acidity. Acrolein was mainly produced about 51-71% with useful by-products such as acetaldehyde and methanol. Amorphous Nb2O5 catalysts calcined at 200-400 degrees C significantly showed higher conversion of glycerol than the crystallized Nb2O5 catalyst calcined at 500-700 degrees C. Also the conversion of glycerol and selectivity of acrolein was increased with increasing the acidity of catalyst, which can be controlled by calcination temperature.