Steam Reforming of Model Compounds and Fast Pyrolysis Bio-oil on Supported Nickle Metal Catalysts for Hydrogen Production

Abstract

Steam reforming of biomass derived bio-oil liquid products was an available low carbon technology to produce sustainable hydrogen fuel. In this article, a series of nickel-based catalysts have been prepared. To examine the catalytic steam reforming behaviors over these catalysts in a fixed bed reactor system, several typical oxygen-containing chemicals, including acetic acids, furfural, cyclopentanone, and meta-cresol, that were proved to be contained in the bio-oil feedstock, were first selected as model starting materials. In these tests, yields for hydrogen were taken as an index of the catalyst activity and the catalyst that exhibited the maximum activity by hydrogen yields was then used for the bio-oil steam reforming studies. In this work, it was concluded that the catalyst activity reached a maximum hydrogen yield of 90.56% and decreased in an order of Ni/MgO-La₂O₃-Al₂O₃ > Ni/MgO-Al₂O₃ ≈ Ni/La₂O₃-Al₂O₃ > Ni/Al₂O₃. The yield of hydrogen for steam reforming of the whole fraction of the bio-oil reached 70% under 800°C and it only lowered 10%, after 10 hours on stream in a stability test.

Keywords:

• acetic acid
• bio-oil
• cyclopentanone
• furfural
• hydrogen
• meta-cresol
• nickel-based catalyst
• steam reforming