Song, Yuxin, Chen, Boquan, Hu, Xiaomin, Wang, Qiao, Xie, Xingyue, Dai, Hui, and Huang, Lihong
Auto-thermal reforming (ATR) of acetic acid (HAc) from renewable bio-oil is an alternative route for hydrogen production, and a series of Ni/Mn(II)Al(III)Ox±δcatalysts were prepared via co-precipitation method and tested in the ATR of HAc. Different parameters including reaction temperatures, O/C molar ratios, gas-hourly space velocity (GHSV), and stability were investigated. The optimal Ni0.39Mn1.61AlO4.31±δcatalyst exhibited excellent catalytic performance in a 50 h ATR test: HAc was converted to H2-rich gas with conversion near 100% and hydrogen yield at 2.7 mol H2/mol HAc. Characterization results demonstrate that with strong interaction among nickel, manganese, and aluminum, a thermally stable spinel structure of MnAl2O4over the MnO support was formed and restrained the growth of Ni particle; meanwhile, oxygen vacancies were found and were beneficial for oxygen transfer in the gasification of carbon. As a result, deactivation by carbon deposition and sintering was restrained. Moreover, high GHSV up to 120,000 mL/(gcat.·h) and fast response to startup were recorded, showing potential for hydrogen feeding via the ATR process.