Steam reforming of n-hexadecane over noble metal-modified Ni-based catalysts

Steam reforming of n-hexadecane, a main constituent of diesel, over noble metal-modified Ni-based hydrotalcite catalyst was carried out in a temperature range of 700–950 °C, at an atmospheric pressure with space velocity of 10,000–100,000 h⁻¹ and feed molar ratio of H₂O/C = 3.0. The catalysts were prepared by a co-precipitation and dipping methods. The noble metal-modified Ni-based hydrotalcite catalyst displayed higher resistance for the sintering of active metal than the Ni-based hydrotalcite catalyst prepared by the conventional method. It was found that the Rh-modified Ni-based catalysts showed high resistance to the formation of carbon compared to Ni-based catalysts. The results suggest that Rh-modified Ni-based catalyst can be applied for the steam reforming (SR) reaction of diesel.