Thermodynamic investigation and experimental analysis on phenol steam reforming towards enhanced H2 production over structured Ni/ZnTiO3 nanocatalyst

Abstract

Thermodynamic analysis incorporated with experiments for H2 production from phenol steam reforming (PSR) over structured Ni/ZnTiO3 nanocatalyst has been investigated. Catalyst samples, prepared via hydrothermal and impregnation methods, were characterized by XRD, FE-SEM, EDX and TGA spectroscopy techniques. First, thermodynamic analysis was applied to investigate the influence of experimental parameters on the products distribution. The optimum operating conditions of PSR based on the thermodynamic analysis were found to be; temperatures 500–700 °C, 5 wt% phenol concentration and atmospheric pressure, where higher H2 yield can be obtained with minimal coke depositions. Next, catalytic performance of Ni/ZnTiO3 for promoting PSR towards H2 production was conducted in a fixed bed reactor at 700 °C and 1 atm. Observably, Ni promoted ZnTiO3 catalyst found very efficient for H2 yield and selectivity. Utilizing 10% Ni/ZnTiO3 catalyst, phenol conversion of 88.3% with H2 yield and selectivity of 75.6 and 68.52%, respectively were attained. The stability test exhibited that Ni/ZnTiO3 catalyst kept active over 100 h without obvious deactivation. According to a comparison between thermodynamic analysis and experimental results, it was possible to illustrate deviations regarding the phenol conversion and selective H2 production. In general, Ni/ZnTiO3 catalyst revealed excellent activity in PSR as a promising material for H2 production.