Coprecipitation dispersion of Cu-Zn-Zr mixed oxides nanocatalyst over Si and Al-Based supports applied in selective and stable hydrogen production from Methanol: Experimental study and rate of reaction engineering via intelligent optimization of CFD method

•Successfully fabricated CuO/ZnO/ZrO2 nanocatalyst supported over different supports.•Confirmation of the effect of different Al-based supports on nanocatalysts' catalytic performance and physicochemical properties.•Marvellous effect of industrial alumina (Clay) on particle dispersion and agglomeration-free surface of the CuO/ZnO/ZrO2 nanocatalyst.•Higher methanol conversion and stability for Clay-supported CuO/ZnO/ZrO2 nanocatalyst.•Optimization of the CFD model of the fixed bed reactor using an intelligent Genetic algorithm.•Determination of methanol-reforming reactions' kinetic parameters for the novel synthesized catalysts. This study focused on evaluating different support materials made of silicon (Si) and aluminum (Al) for improving the properties of catalysts and their ability to produce high-purity hydrogen from methanol. Accordingly, four coprecipitation-supported nano-scale CuO/ZnO/ZrO2 catalysts were fabricated. Accordingly, MCM-41, γ-Al2O3, and activated alumina materials were used as supports for these catalysts. Various methods such as BET, EDX, FESEM, FTIR, PSD, and XRD were used to analyze the prepared catalysts. The results of FESEM and EDX indicated that using activated alumina as a support led to the smallest copper particle size and excellent dispersion on its surface, and prevented the agglomeration of particles. The catalyst made with activated alumina also had the largest surface area, which is beneficial for reactions. This catalyst showed strong methanol conversion ability and produced less undesirable CO during hydrogen production from methanol. Additionally, a stability test lasting 1220 min confirmed that this catalyst maintained consistent performance over time. A novel method combining CFD and genetic optimization algorithms was used to synthesize new catalysts for catalytic steam reforming of methanol. This approach accurately estimated reaction rates and activation energies, achieving an RMSE below 0.01 for all outcomes. The optimal catalyst, CZZ-Al2O3 (A), exhibited activation energies of 73.928 J/mol, 71.261 J/mol, 106.516 J/mol, and 143.217 J/mol with an RMSE of 0.0089.