Aqueous-phase reforming of the low-boiling fraction of rice husk pyrolyzed bio-oil in the presence of platinum catalyst for hydrogen production

Aqueous-phase reforming (APR) of the low-boiling fraction (LBF) of bio-oil from rice husk pyrolysis was investigated over Pt/Al2O3 for hydrogen production. The influence of reaction temperature (503-563 K), reaction time (1-4 h), different load of organics in water (3-12 wt.%) and catalyst amounts (0.25-1 g) were studied. The hydrogen content of the gas products reached 65 vol.% at 533 K for 4 h with a feedstock of 9.6 g LBF and 30 mL water in the presence of 0.5 g of 2 wt.% Pt/Al2O3. APR is a promising method to make use of the organics in LBF of bio-oil to produce hydrogen. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.