Ru-Rh based catalysts for hydrogen production via methanol steam reforming in conventional and membrane reactors

Results of hydrogen production study in methanol steam reforming (MSR) process with the use of Ru-0.5-Rh-0.5 catalysts supported on different carbon materials: synthetic graphite like material Sibunit, carbon black Ketjenblack EC600DJ, detonation nanodiamonds (DND) and ZrO2-based material with fluorite structure, doped with ceria, have been described. The samples have been tested in conventional flow reactor and membrane (MR) reactor, containing Pd-based membranes with different composition, thickness and surface architecture. It has been shown that the catalytic activity of the composites depends on the support nature. The Ru-Rh/DND catalyst exhibits the highest activity, whereas Ru-Rh/Ce0.1O2-delta is the most selective. The use of Pd-Ag (23%) foil with the surface modified by palladium black showed great advantages comparing to the smooth dense membrane. The use of the MR with the Pd-Ag membrane improves the MSR reaction and provides almost 50% increase in the hydrogen yield. The hydrogen produced with the use of the MR is ultra pure. (C) 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.