Ethanol steam reforming on Mg- and Ca-modified Cu-Ni/SBA-15 catalysts

The effect of Mg and Ca incorporation (0-20 wt%) into CuNi/SBA-15 catalysts for hydrogen production by ethanol steam reforming has been studied. Promoting elements, Ca and Mg, were added to SBA-15 support prior to the active phase, Cu (2 wt%) and Ni (7 wt%). In both cases, the metals were incorporated to SBA-15 by incipient wetness impregnation followed by calcination to obtain the corresponding oxides. XRD analyses and TEM images demonstrated that CaO and MgO improved the dispersion of the Cu-Ni phase. Moreover, TPR profiles showed that Ca or Mg strengthened the interaction between the SBA-15 Support and the Cu-Ni phase. Both promoting effects of Ca and Mg, together with their basic character enhanced the catalytic performance of CuNi/SBA-15 catalysts on ethanol steam reforming, giving higher hydrogen selectivity and lower coke deposition. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.