Catalytic steam reforming of chlorocarbons: methyl chloride

This paper reports a novel catalytic process for the destruction of chlorinated hydrocarbons. Based on CH₄-steam reforming reactions, the approach gives high levels of conversion (5-nines possible) at high space velocities (2−3 × 10⁵ h⁻¹) and temperatures (650–750°C). Products comprise CO, CO₂, H₂ and HCl and no others were identified. Rapid deactivation by parallel thermal pyrolysis reactions occurs if high conversion is not maintained. The presence of Cl species poisons CH₄-steam reforming and water gas shift activities, but the effect is only temporary and disappears when the Cl compounds are removed from the feed. Kinetic studies on methyl chloride have been carried out and show a Langmuir-Hinshelwood type behavior, from which a proposed mechanism involving dual-site surface dissociation is suggested. Comparisons with other common chlorocarbons show similarities, with the exception that 1,1,1-trichloroethane is very sensitive to thermal pyrolysis and gives faster deactivation.     

Catalytic steam reforming of chlorocarbons: trichloroethane, trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene

The effective destruction of trichloroethane, trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene by steam reforming with a commercial nickel catalyst has been demonstrated. Conversion levels of up to 0.99999 were attained in both laboratory and semi-pilot experiments, with the products consisting of HCl, H₂ and carbon oxides. Care had to be exercised in maintaining these high conversion levels to prevent parallel pyrolysis reactions that resulted in carbonaceous deposits and catalyst deactivation. The importance of these pyrolysis reactions appears to follow established incinerability patterns and is more pronounced for alkanes than alkenes.

By using relatively large amounts of catalyst in the large semi-pilot reactor, it was possible to maintain high conversions for up to 50 h without appreciable carbon deposition in the bed. However, the activity of the catalyst for the water gas shift reaction declined progressively with process time. This deactivation effect was reversed by treatment with steam over prolonged periods, leading to the speculation that shift activity is poisoned by exposure to HCl in the product.

This process offers an attractive alternative to conventional technologies (thermal incineration and catalytic combustion) for the destruction of chlorocarbons used as industrial solvents or found in waste streams, and applicable process conditions are given.     

Catalytic aspects of the steam reforming of hydrocarbons in internal reforming fuel cells

Steam reforming of hydrocarbons such as natural gas is an attractive method of producing the hydrogen fuel gas required by fuel cells. It may be carried out external to the fuel cell or internally. The two types of fuel cell in which internal reforming is most appropriate are the molten carbonate (MCFC), operating at ca. 650°C and the solid oxide (SOFC) which currently operates above 800°C. At such temperatures, the heat liberated by the electrochemical reactions within the cell can be utilised by the endothermic steam reforming reaction. This paper reviews some of the catalytic aspects of internal reforming in these two types of cell. In the MCFC the major catalyst issue is that of long term activity in the presence of a corrosive alkaline environment produced by the cell's electrolyte. In Europe, this is being addressed by British Gas and others, in a programme part-funded by the European Commission. In this programme, potential catalysts for the direct internal reforming MCFC were evaluated in ‘out-of-cell’ tests. This has led to the demonstration of a 1 kW proof-of-concept DIR-MCFC stack and the start of a European ‘Advanced DIR-MCFC’ project. For the SOFC, it has been shown that state-of-the-art nickel cermet anodes can provide sufficient activity for steam reforming without the need for additional catalyst. However, anode degradation may occur when steam reforming is carried out for long periods. New anode materials could therefore offer significant benefits.     

Catalytic steam reforming of model biogas

Catalytic steam reforming of a model biogas (CH₄/CO₂ = 60/40) is investigated to produce H₂-rich synthesis gas. Gas engines benefit from synthesis gas fuel in terms of higher efficiency and lower NO_x production when compared to raw biogas or CH₄. The process is realized in a fixed bed reactor with a Ni-based catalyst on CaO/Al₂O₃ support. To optimize the performance, the reactor temperature and the amount of excess steam are varied. The experimental results are compared to the theoretical values from thermodynamic calculation and the main trends of CH₄ conversion and H₂ yield are analyzed and verified. Finally, optimal reactor temperature is pointed out and a range of potential steam to methane ratios is presented. The experimental results will be applied to design a steam reformer at an existing anaerobic biomass fermentation plant in Strem, Austria.     

Catalytic combustion assisted methane steam reforming in a catalytic plate reactor

A theoretical study of methane steam reforming coupled with methane catalytic combustion in a catalytic plate reactor (CPR) based on a two-dimensional model is presented. Plates with coated catalyst layers of order of micrometers at distances of order of millimetres offer a high degree of compactness and minimise heat and mass transport resistances. Choosing similar operating conditions in terms of inlet composition and temperature as in industrial reformer allows a direct comparison of CPRs with the latter. It is shown that short distance between heat source and heat sink increases the efficiency of heat exchange. Transverse temperature gradients do not exceed across the wall and across the gas-phase, in contrast to difference in temperature of outside wall and mean gas phase temperature inside the tube usually observed in conventional reformers. The effectiveness factors for the reforming chemical reactions are about one order of magnitude higher than in conventional processes. Minimisation of heat and mass transfer resistances results in reduction of reactor volume and catalyst weight by two orders of magnitude as compared to industrial reformer. Alteration of distance between plates in the range 1- does not result in significant difference in reactor performance, if made at constant inlet flowrates. However, if such modifications are made at constant inlet velocities, conversion and temperature profiles are considerably affected. Similar effects are observed when catalyst layer thicknesses are increased.     

Highly selective supported Pd catalysts for steam reforming of methanol

Steam reforming of methanol, CH₃OH + H₂O 3H₂ + CO₂, was carried out over various Pd catalysts (Pd/SiO₂, Pd/Al₂O₃, Pd/La₂O₃, Pd/Nb₂O₅, Pd/Nd₂O₃, Pd/ZrO₂, Pd/ZnO and unsupported Pd). The reaction was greatly affected by the kind of support. The selectivity for the steam reforming was anomalously high over Pd/ZnO catalysts.     

Poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based micro-reactors for steam reforming of methanol

A miniaturized methanol steam reformer with a serpentine type of micro-channels was developed based on poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) material. This way of fabricating micro-hydrogen generator is very simple and inexpensive. The volume of a PDMS micro-reformer is less than 10 cm³. The catalyst used was a commercial Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ reforming catalyst from Johnson Matthey. The Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ reforming catalyst particles of mean diameter 50-70 μm was packed into the micro-channels by injecting water based suspension of catalyst particles at the inlet point. The miniaturized PDMS micro-reformer was operated successfully in the operating temperatures of 180-240 °C and 15%-75% molar methanol conversion was achieved in this temperature range for WHSV of 2.1-4.2 h⁻¹. It was not possible to operate the micro-reformer made by pure PDMS at temperature beyond 240 °C. Hybrid type of micro-reformer was fabricated by mixing PDMS and silica powder which allowed the operating temperature around 300 °C. The complete conversion (99.5%) of methanol was achieved at 280 °C in this case. The maximum reformate gas flow rate was 30 ml/min which can produce 1 W power at 0.6 V assuming hydrogen utilization of 60%.     

Hydrogen from biomass-production by steam reforming of biomass pyrolysis oil

Thermo-conversion of biomass is one of the leading near-term options for renewable production of hydrogen and has the potential to provide a significant fraction of transportation fuel required in the future. We propose a two-step process that starts with fast pyrolysis of biomass, which generates high yields of a liquid product, bio-oil, followed by catalytic steam reforming of bio-oil to produce hydrogen. A major advantage of such a concept results from the fact that bio-oil is much easier and less expensive to transport than either biomass or hydrogen. Therefore, the processing of biomass and the production of hydrogen can be performed at separate locations, optimized with respect to feedstock supply and to hydrogen distribution infrastructure. This approach makes the process very well suited for both centralized and distributed hydrogen production. This work demonstrates reforming of bio-oil in a bench-scale fluidized bed system and provides hydrogen yields obtained using several commercial and custom-made catalysts.     

Dechlorination of chlorinated hydrocarbons by catalytic steam reforming

Past research in this laboratory on catalytic steam reforming of chlorinated hydrocarbons demonstrated extremely high levels of destruction (0.99999+) at 600–750 °C, with GHSVs as high as 2.5 × 10⁵ h⁻¹. Feasible operation was demonstrated with chlorinated alkanes, alkenes, aromatics and PCBs using Pt/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts. The major mechanism for deactivation with trichloroethylene was sintering of the γ-Al₂O₃ support and encapsulation of Pt crystallites.

Evidence is presented here that ZrO₂ is a superior support for steam reforming of trichloroethylene (TCE), due to its low acidity and ability to store oxygen. Formulations of 0.8 wt.% Pt/ZrO₂ tested at a GHSV of 20,000 h⁻¹ and a H₂O/C ratio of 20 operated for 42 days at 750 °C, with only slight carbon deposits in the first 15% of the catalyst bed. No pyrolysis was found, and the product CO/CO₂ ratio was at equilibrium, indicating high water gas shift activity with very low CO concentrations. Kinetic measurements revealed a pseudo-first order rate equation, sintering of the support and Pt was much less than with γ-Al₂O₃ supports, and no encapsulation was detected. Slow deactivation occurred due to deposition of catalytic carbon. This carbon was removed by combustion with air, and the rate of deactivation indicated the 42-day run would have lasted seven months.     

Catalytic performance and characterization of Pt-Ni bimetallic catalysts for oxidative steam reforming of methane

Effects of methane oxygen mixture addition to steam reforming of methane and subsequent removal of the methane oxygen mixture from the oxidative steam reforming of methane on catalytic performance were investigated using monometallic Ni and Pt catalysts and two Pt-Ni bimetallic catalysts. Hysteresis with respect to the addition and removal of the methane oxygen mixture was observed clearly on a Pt-Ni bimetallic catalyst prepared by co-impregnation method and the Ni catalyst. In contrast, no hysteresis was observed for a Pt-Ni catalyst that was prepared by sequential impregnation method. Combined with characterization results obtained using EXAFS analysis and FTIR of CO adsorption, Pt-Ni catalyst was prepared by sequential impregnation is formed Pt-Ni alloy particles, where Pt atoms are segregated on the surface, enhances the reducibility of Ni drastically and this is related to the behavior without hysteresis.     

Methane steam reforming modeling in a palladium membrane reactor

A mathematical model of a membrane reactor used for methane steam reforming was developed to simulate and compare the maximum yields and operating conditions in the reactor with that in a conventional fixed bed reactor. Results show that the membrane reactor resents higher methane conversion yield and can be operated under milder conditions than the fixed bed reactor, and that membrane thickness is the most important construction parameter for membrane reactor success. Control of the H₂:CO ratio is possible in the membrane reactor making this technology more suitable for production of syngas to be used in gas-to-liquid processes (GTL).     

Evaluation of the economic and environmental impact of combining dry reforming with steam reforming of methane

Lately, there has been considerable interest in the development of more efficient processes to generate syngas, an intermediate in the production of fuels and chemicals, including methanol, dimethyl ether, ethylene, propylene and Fischer–Tropsch fuels. Steam methane reforming (SMR) is the most widely applied method of producing syngas from natural gas. Dry reforming of methane (DRM) is a process that uses waste carbon dioxide to produce syngas from natural gas. Dry reforming alone has not yet been implemented commercially; however, a combination of steam methane reforming and dry reforming of methane (SMR + DRM) has been used in industry for several years.     

Synthesis gas production by steam reforming of ethanol

A two-layer fixed-bed catalytic reactor for syngas production by steam reforming of ethanol has been proposed. In the reactor, ethanol is first converted to a mixture of methane, carbon oxides and hydrogen over a Pd-based catalyst and then this mixture is converted to syngas over a Ni-based catalyst for methane steam reforming. It has been shown that the use of the two-layer fixed-bed reactor prevents coke formation and provides the syngas yield closed to equilibrium.     

Glycerol steam reforming over hydrothermal synthetic Ni-Ca/attapulgite for green hydrogen generation

Glycerol steam reforming (GSR) is one of the promising technologies that can realize renewable hydrogen production and efficient utilization of crude glycerol. To illuminate the functions of Ca content (3%, 6%, 9%, and 12%, by mass) and preparation method for Ni/ATP catalyst structure and its catalytic behaviors, the Ni-xCa/ATP (x?=?3%, 6%, 9%, and 12%, by mass) catalysts are prepared by co-impregnation (ci) and hydrothermal synthesis (hs) method and then tested in GSR. Characterization results of XRD, N₂ adsorption–desorption, H₂-TPR, HRTEM, XPS, and NH₃/CO₂-TPD demonstrate that the combined effect between appropriate Ca additive (6%, by mass) and hs enhance catalyst reducibility, uniform distribution of Ca additive and nickel species over ATP, and adsorption for CO₂. This attributes to hs method protects the ATP framework through suppressing the interaction of Ca with ATP and promotes the formation of Ni-CaO interface sites. Therefore, Ni-6Ca/ATP-hs exhibits the highest conversion (86.77%) of glycerol to gas product and H₂ yield (76.17%) and selectivity (58.56%) during GSR. Furthermore, XRD, HRTEM, TG-DTG and Raman analyses confirm that Ni-6Ca/ATP-hs also reveals outstanding anti-sintering and coke resistance. In addition, the structural evolution process of Ni/ATP catalyst with Ca introduction and hs method is presented. Considering the high performance, simple preparation process and low cost, the as-prepared catalyst providing new opportunities for utilization of glycerol derived from biodiesel industry.     

Catalytic monoliths for ethanol steam reforming

Cordierite monoliths coated with Co/ZnO catalysts were prepared by washcoating, urea, and sol–gel techniques and characterized by confocal microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and adherence tests. The performance of the catalytic monoliths for practical application in the production of hydrogen through ethanol steam reforming (ESR) and water gas shift (WGS) reactions was evaluated. Monoliths prepared by the urea method exhibited excellent dispersion and adherence of catalyst coatings and performed better for the reforming of ethanol. 5.6 mol H₂/mol C₂H₅OH were obtained from a C₂H₅OH:H₂O = 1:6 gaseous mixture at 723 K and 0.33 mL min⁻¹ of C₂H₅OH. Under these conditions and total ethanol conversion the composition of the effluent stream was 73.9% H₂, 23.7% CO₂, 1.2% CO, and 1.0% CH₄. The amount of CO was kept low due to the activity of monoliths for the WGS reaction under ethanol steam reforming conditions.     

Highly dispersible cerium-oxide modified Ni/SBA-15 for steam reforming of bio-mass based JP10

Ni/SBA-15 modified by highly dispersed cerium-oxide was prepared with the aid of sucrose for steam reforming of JP10 (C₁₀H₁₆). Their characterization showed that addition of appropriate amount ceria led to the formation of highly dispersed CeO₂ and Ni, and the CeO₂ covered smaller nickel particles like strawberry seeds to form much more interface between them. Their catalytic activity exhibited higher stability over time on stream of 6.5 h with conversion higher than 95% and higher carbon resistance (mass loss less than 4.5% by TG), which may derive from good properties below: (1) much more interface enhanced cooperation effect and increased turnover frequency at the interface; (2) the stronger interaction between Ni and ceria to suppress sintering by formation of Ni-O-Ce solid solution; (3) the large amount of oxygen vacancies from the formation of Ni-O-Ce solid solution and highly dispersed CeO₂ to facilitate the water–gas–shift reaction and carbon removal.     

Ni nanoparticles supported on carbon as efficient catalysts for steam reforming of toluene (model tar)

This paper investigated the influences of surface properties of carbon support and nickel precursors (nickel nitrate,nickel chloride and nickel acetate) on Ni nanoparticle sizes and catalytic performances for steam reforming of toluene.Treatment with nitric acid helped to increase the amount of functional groups on the surface and hydrophilic nature of carbon support,leading to a homogeneous distribution of Ni nanoparticles.The thermal decomposition products of nickel precursor also played an important role,Ni nanoparticles supported on carbon treated with acid using nickel nitrate as the precursor exhibited the smallest mean diameter of 4.5 nm.With the loading amount increased from 6 wt％ to 18 wt％,the mean particle size of Ni nanoparticles varied from 4.5 nm to 9.1 nm.The as-prepared catalyst showed a high catalytic activity and a good stability for toluene steam reforming:98.1％ conversion of toluene was obtained with the Ni content of 12 wt％ and the S/C ratio of 3,and the conversion only decreased to 92.0％ after 700 min.Because of the high activity,good stability,and low cost,the as-prepared catalyst opens up new opportunities for tar removing.     

Synthesis gas production using steam hydrogasification and steam reforming

Experimental work has been carried out on the mixed reforming reaction, i.e., simultaneous steam and CO₂ reforming of methane under a wide range of feed compositions and four different reaction temperatures from 700 °C to 850 °C using a commercial steam reforming catalyst. The experiments were conducted for a CO₂/CH₄ ratio from 0 to 2 and a steam to methane ratio from 3 to 5. The effect of CO₂/CH₄ ratio on the exit H₂/CO ratio and the conversions of the reactants indicate that the dry reforming reaction is dominant under increased carbon dioxide in the feed. Steam reforming of typical steam hydrogasification product gas consisting of CO, H₂ and CO₂ in addition to steam and methane has also been investigated. The H₂/CO ratio of the product synthesis gas varies from 4.3 to 3.7 and from 4.8 to 4.1 depending on the feed composition and reaction temperature. The CO/CO₂ ratios of the synthesis gas varied from 1.9 to 2.9 and 2.0 to 3.3. The results are compared with simulation results obtained through the Aspen Plus process simulation tool. The results demonstrate that a coupled steam hydrogasification and reforming process can generate a synthesis gas with a flexible H₂/CO ratio from carbon-containing feedstocks.     

Characterization of CuMn-spinel catalyst for methanol steam reforming

CuMn-spinel oxide (CuMn(S)) and non-spinel CuMn (CuMn(NS)) oxide have been obtained by calcining the same precursor at 900 °C and 300 °C, respectively. CuMn(S) was composed of Cu_1.5Mn_1.5O₄ spinel and Mn₃O₄, while CuMn(NS) consisted of CuO and Mn₃O₄. XRD, EXAFS, and TEM measurements of the samples reduced in hydrogen revealed that both CuMn(S) and CuMn(NS) were reduced to Cu metal dispersed on MnO and that the particle size of Cu metal from the CuMn(S) was smaller than that from CuMn(NS). In methanol steam reforming, the spinel derived catalyst showed higher activity than the non-spinel due to the higher dispersion of the Cu metal.     

Catalytic reforming of tar during gasification. Part I. Steam reforming of biomass tar using ilmenite as a catalyst

Ilmenite, a natural iron-containing mineral, has been investigated as an inexpensive catalyst for the steam reforming of volatiles (tar) from the pyrolysis of mallee woody biomass. The results indicate that ilmenite has good activity for the steam reforming of tar into gases due to its highly dispersed iron-containing species. The supply of external steam, in addition to the H₂O and CO₂ produced during the pyrolysis of biomass, plays an important role in minimising the formation of coke on the catalyst surface and thus the catalyst activity. The catalyst deactivation due to coke formation has more adverse effects on the reforming of larger aromatic ring system with steam than that of smaller ones. In addition, the supply of additional oxygen at low concentration changed the outcomes of tar reforming mainly because oxygen activated the smaller aromatic ring systems and polymerised them into larger aromatic ring systems in the gas phase.