ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Ni-based olivine-type catalysts and their application in hydrogen production via auto-thermal reforming of acetic acid

Ming-Shi Feng, Jia-Duo Liu, Fang-Bai Zhang, and Li-Hong Huang

State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploration, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China

E-mail: ljd@cdut.edu.cn

Abstract: Olivine is abundant in the Earth’s upper mantle; it has applications in catalysts to enhance their stability in structures. The olivine-type catalysts were prepared by co-precipitation and hydrothermal synthesis and tested in the auto-thermal reforming (ATR) of acetic acid (AC), a model compound from bio-oil, for hydrogen production. In the meantime, the natural olivine impregnated with Ni was also tested. Characterisations of XRD, nitrogen physisorption, temperature-programmed reduction, and SEM-EDX were used to find the structure-reactivity relationship. The results indicate that the natural olivine produced a low H₂ yield close to 0.17 mole of H₂ per 1 mole of AC, while the olivine impregnated with Ni produced a H₂ yield of from 2.19 mole to 2.73 mole of H₂ per mole of AC. The olivine catalyst prepared by hydrothermal synthesis performed better in both activity and stability: the H₂ yield achieved 3.06 mole of H₂ per mole of AC and remained stable, which could be attributed to the higher surface area and stability with Ni inserted in the skeleton of olivine.

Keywords: olivine-supported nickel-based catalyst – olivine prepared by hydrothermal synthesis – auto-thermal reforming of acetic acid for hydrogen production – acetic acid from bio-oil

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1515/chempap-2015-0137

Chemical Papers 69 (9) 1166–1175 (2015)