Production of renewable hydrogen from glycerol steam reforming over bimetallic Ni-(Cu,Co,Cr) catalysts supported on SBA-15 silica

Abstract

Glycerol steam reforming (GSR) is a promising alternative to obtain renewable hydrogen and help the economics of the biodiesel industry. Nickel-based catalysts are typically used in reforming reactions. However, the choice of the catalyst greatly influences the process, so the development of bimetallic catalysts is a research topic of relevant interest. In this work, the effect of adding Cu, Co, and Cr to the formulation of Ni/SBA-15 catalysts for hydrogen production by GSR has been studied, looking for an enhancement of its catalytic performance. Bimetallic Ni-M/SBA-15 (M: Co, Cu, Cr) samples were prepared by incipient wetness co-impregnation to reach 15 wt % of Ni and 4 wt % of the second metal. Catalysts were characterized by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), N2-physisorption, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), hydrogen temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), and tested in GSR at 600 °C and atmospheric pressure. The addition of Cu, Co, and Cr to the Ni/SBA-15 catalyst helped to form smaller crystallites of the Ni phase, this effect being more pronounced in the case of the Ni-Cr/SBA-15 sample. This catalyst also showed a reduction profile shifted towards higher temperatures, indicating stronger metal-support interaction. As a consequence, the Ni-Cr/SBA-15 catalyst exhibited the best performance in GSR in terms of glycerol conversion and hydrogen production. Additionally, Ni-Cr/SBA-15 achieved a drastic reduction in coke formation compared to the Ni/SBA-15 material.