H-2 production by oxidative steam reforming of ethanol over K promoted Co-Rh/CeO2-ZrO2 catalysts

This paper reports the behaviour of CeO2-ZrO2-supported Co-based catalysts in the oxidative ethanol steam reforming (OESR) to produce hydrogen. We explored the effect of the addition of rhodium and potassium on catalytic behaviour. Catalysts were characterized by various techniques: X-ray diffraction, temperature-programmed hydrogen reduction and infrared spectroscopy using CO as probe molecule. The OESR process was analysed under variable water/ethanol and O-2/ethanol ratios at atmospheric pressure, and in the temperature range of 593-673 K. The addition of Rh facilitated Co reducibility and enhanced activity under OESR conditions. The K-promoter improved the catalytic behaviour of mono-(Co) and bi-metallic (Co-Rh) catalysts under the OESR conditions used in this study.