Conversion of Ethanol Over Co/CeO2 and KCo/CeO2 Catalysts for Hydrogen Production

This paper investigates the performance of Co/CeO 2 and KCo/CeO 2 catalysts in both steam reforming of ethanol (SRE; H 2 O/C 2 H 5 OH = 9/1) and oxidative steam reforming of ethanol (OSRE; H 2 O/C 2 H 5 OH/O 2 = 9/1/0.7) processes. The catalysts, prepared by support impregnation with cobalt nitrate-citric acid were characterized using various characterization techniques including nitrogen adsorption, hydrogen chemisorption, temperature-programmed reduction and temperature-programmed oxidation. The effect of oxygen presence on catalyst coking was determined by the gravimetric method. The effect of oxygen addition on product distribution and ethanol conversion was characterized in a fixed bed reactor. The optimum temperature of both processes was 540 °C. The small oxygen addition allowed to decrese the coke formation on the catalyst surface and to reduce slightly its deactivation. But the higher hydrogen production was obtained in the absence of oxygen. Graphical Abstract