Silica Sol-Gel Supported Nickel Nano-Catalyst for Hydrogen Production Using Microreactors
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0885-A10-09.1
Silica Sol-Gel Supported Nickel Nano-Catalyst for Hydrogen Production Using Microreactors Krithi Shetty1, Shihuai Zhao1, Wei Cao1, Naidu V. Seetala2 and Debasish Kuila1,3* 1 Institute for Micromanufacturing, Louisiana Tech University, 2 Department of Physics, Grambling State University, 3 Chemistry, Louisiana Tech University *
[email protected], Phone: 318-257-5121, Fax: 318-257-5104
ABSTRACT The goal of this research is to investigate the activities of a non-noble nano-catalyst (Ni/SiO2) using Si-microreactors for steam reforming of methanol to produce hydrogen for fuel cells. The silica supported catalyst was synthesized by sol-gel method using Ni (II) nitrate and Si(C2H5O)4 as starting materials. EDX results indicate that the actual loading of Ni (5-6%) is lower than the intended loading of 12%. The specific surface area of the silica sol-gel encapsulated Ni catalyst is 452 m2/g with an average pore size of ~3 nm. STEM studies show Niparticles size in the range of ~10 nm. Steam reforming reactions have been carried out in a microreactor with 50 µm wide channels in the temperature range of 180-240 °C and atmospheric pressure. The reaction results show 53% conversion of methanol with a selectivity of 74 % to hydrogen at 5 l/min and 200 °C. The magnetic properties of Ni catalyst were performed using a Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) to study the activity of the catalyst before and after the steam reforming reactions. The VSM results indicate much higher activity of Ni catalyst in microreactor compared to that in macro-reactor, and Ni forms non-ferromagnetic species faster in the microreactor. INTRODUCTION Hydrogen, as the feed gas of fuel cell, is a preferred alternative source of fuel since fuel cell is getting remarkable attention of Department of Energy because of consumption of gasoline and environmental concerns. Methanol is an attractive source for hydrogen production due to its low cost and ease of synthesis from coal or biomass.1 Compared to decomposition and partial oxidation of methanol, steam reforming of methanol (SRM) is considered to be the most favorable chemical process for hydrogen production as SRM yields higher H2-production with low selectivity to CO, which poisons the catalyst of a fuel cell. CH3OH + H2O
3H2 + CO2
∆Hr = 50 kJ mol-1
(1)
Many research groups2-6 have carried out intensive studies on SRM due to high methanol conversion, high hydrogen concentration and mild reaction conditions. The studies of SRM with a variety of catalysts (Cu, Ni, Rh, Pd, and Pt) supported on various oxides (SiO2, Al2O3, ZnO, MgO, La2O3, NdO3, MnO2, Cr2O3, HfO2, Nb2O5) have been performed by several groups.5, 7-11 Most of the catalysts used in SRM reactions are noble metal catalysts which show high activity, but are extremely expensive compared to non-noble metal catalysts.
0885-A10-09.2
The main objective of this research is to synthesize, characterize and develop a high performance non-noble metal catalyst for hydrogen production from methanol using silicon based microreactor. EXPERIME
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