Production of Hydrogen by Steam Reforming of Methanol Over …
413
kg catalyst per h. It is clear from the figure that higher conversion of methanol was
obtained over indigenous nano-Ni-based catalyst and maintained almost constant
catalytic activity for certain period of time (165 min) than other commercial catalyst.
Moreover, at initial stage, methanol conversion drops rapidly due to extensive coke
formation on catalyst surface for commercial Ni and Cu catalyst. Therefore, the
prepared nano-NiO/SiO 2 –Al 2 O 3 catalyst is the best one over the commercial catalysts
tested.
4 Conclusion
Sol–gel-derived nano-NiO/SiO 2 -supported on alumina was prepared and successfully used in steam reforming of methanol. The catalyst containing 8.84% Ni calcined
at 400 °C was observed to be optimum catalyst. The developed catalyst showed high
catalytic activity and stability during the course of reaction. Extensive experimental
investigations on SRM have been carried out over wide range of parameters such as
reforming temperature, feed ratio, and space velocity. The distribution of dry reformate was also found to be significantly affected by process parameters. The optimum
condition of SRM in terms of conversion was established at 425 °C with steam to
methanol molar ratio of 1.8:1 and space velocity of 0.14 kmol of methanol fed per
kg catalyst per h. Under this condition, conversion of methanol was about 95% and
yield of hydrogen was 3 mol of H 2 per mole of methanol reacted.
Acknowledgements Authors are thankful to all the technical staff of the Department of Chemical
Engineering of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur for their cooperation during execution
of the research work.
References
Abrokwah RY, Deshmane VG, Kuila D (2016) Comparative performance of M-MCM-41 (M: Cu
Co, Ni, Pd, Zn and Sn) catalysts for steam reforming of methanol. J Mol Catal A Chem 425:10–20
Bagherzadeh SB, Haghighi M (2017) Plasma-enhanced comparative hydrothermal and coprecipitation preparation of CuO/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 nanocatalyst used in hydrogen production via methanol
steam reforming. Energy Convers Manage 142:452–465
Bej B, Pradhan NC, Neogi S (2013) Production of hydrogen by steam reforming of methane over
alumina supported nano-NiO/SiO 2 catalyst. Catal Today 207:28–35
Diaz-Perez MA, Moya J, Serrano-Ruiz JC, Faria J (2018) Interplay of support chemistry and reaction
conditions on copper catalyzed methanol steam reforming. Ind Eng Chem Res 57:15268–15279
Deshmane VG, Owen SL, Abrokwah RY, Kuila D (2015a) Mesoporous nanocrystalline TiO 2
supported metal (Cu Co, Ni, Pd, Zn, and Sn) catalysts: effect of metal-support interactions on
steam reforming of methanol. J Mol Catal A Chem 408:202–213
Deshmane VG, Abrokwah RY, Kuila D (2015b) Synthesis of stable Cu-MCM-41 nanocatalysts for
H 2 production with high selectivity via steam reforming of methanol. Int J Hydrogen Energy
40:10439–10452
413
kg catalyst per h. It is clear from the figure that higher conversion of methanol was
obtained over indigenous nano-Ni-based catalyst and maintained almost constant
catalytic activity for certain period of time (165 min) than other commercial catalyst.
Moreover, at initial stage, methanol conversion drops rapidly due to extensive coke
formation on catalyst surface for commercial Ni and Cu catalyst. Therefore, the
prepared nano-NiO/SiO 2 –Al 2 O 3 catalyst is the best one over the commercial catalysts
tested.
4 Conclusion
Sol–gel-derived nano-NiO/SiO 2 -supported on alumina was prepared and successfully used in steam reforming of methanol. The catalyst containing 8.84% Ni calcined
at 400 °C was observed to be optimum catalyst. The developed catalyst showed high
catalytic activity and stability during the course of reaction. Extensive experimental
investigations on SRM have been carried out over wide range of parameters such as
reforming temperature, feed ratio, and space velocity. The distribution of dry reformate was also found to be significantly affected by process parameters. The optimum
condition of SRM in terms of conversion was established at 425 °C with steam to
methanol molar ratio of 1.8:1 and space velocity of 0.14 kmol of methanol fed per
kg catalyst per h. Under this condition, conversion of methanol was about 95% and
yield of hydrogen was 3 mol of H 2 per mole of methanol reacted.
Acknowledgements Authors are thankful to all the technical staff of the Department of Chemical
Engineering of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur for their cooperation during execution
of the research work.
References
Abrokwah RY, Deshmane VG, Kuila D (2016) Comparative performance of M-MCM-41 (M: Cu
Co, Ni, Pd, Zn and Sn) catalysts for steam reforming of methanol. J Mol Catal A Chem 425:10–20
Bagherzadeh SB, Haghighi M (2017) Plasma-enhanced comparative hydrothermal and coprecipitation preparation of CuO/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 nanocatalyst used in hydrogen production via methanol
steam reforming. Energy Convers Manage 142:452–465
Bej B, Pradhan NC, Neogi S (2013) Production of hydrogen by steam reforming of methane over
alumina supported nano-NiO/SiO 2 catalyst. Catal Today 207:28–35
Diaz-Perez MA, Moya J, Serrano-Ruiz JC, Faria J (2018) Interplay of support chemistry and reaction
conditions on copper catalyzed methanol steam reforming. Ind Eng Chem Res 57:15268–15279
Deshmane VG, Owen SL, Abrokwah RY, Kuila D (2015a) Mesoporous nanocrystalline TiO 2
supported metal (Cu Co, Ni, Pd, Zn, and Sn) catalysts: effect of metal-support interactions on
steam reforming of methanol. J Mol Catal A Chem 408:202–213
Deshmane VG, Abrokwah RY, Kuila D (2015b) Synthesis of stable Cu-MCM-41 nanocatalysts for
H 2 production with high selectivity via steam reforming of methanol. Int J Hydrogen Energy
40:10439–10452