Sustainable H2 production from ethanol steam reforming over a macro-mesoporous Ni/Mg-Al-O catalytic monolith

A macro-meso-porous monolithic Ni-based catalyst was prepared via an impregnation route using polystyrene foam as the template and then used in the steam reforming of ethanol to produce a H-2-rich gas. The Ni/Mg-Al catalyst has a hierarchically macro-meso-porous structure as indicated by photographs and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The surface area of the catalyst was 230 m(2) . g(-1) and the Ni dispersion was 5.62%. Compared to the pelletized sample that was prepared without a template, the macro-meso-porous Ni/Mg-Al monolith exhibited superior reactivity in terms of H-2 production and also had lower CH4 yields at 700 degrees C and 800 degrees C. Furthermore, the monolithic catalyst maintained excellent activity and H-2 selectivity after 100-h on-stream at 700 degrees C, as well as good resistance to coking and metal sintering.