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Highlights • Effect of pre-reforming by Fe/bio-char catalyst on bio-oil reforming was studied. • Fe/bio-char pre-reforming increases the H 2 and CO yields from bio-oil reforming. • Fe/bio-char catalyst promotes the transformation of aromatics into light compounds. • Less coke was formed on Ni-based catalyst due to Fe/bio-char catalyst at 550–600 °C. • Pre-reforming promotes the formation of NiO and NiAl 2 O 4 on Ni-based catalyst. Abstract Ni-based catalyst is prone to the deactivation by coke deposition during the catalytic steam reforming of bio-oil. In order to optimize catalytic activity of the Ni-based catalyst, a two-stage catalytic reforming scheme was proposed whereby a low-temperature (350–600 °C) pre-reforming process with a less expensive catalyst was introduced prior to the Ni-based catalyst. To study this scheme, the reforming experiments with different combinations of Fe/bio-char (in the first stage) and Ni-Ca/γ-Al 2 O 3 (in the second stage) were conducted. In addition to the quantification of product yields, the tar and gas were characterized with an ultraviolet (UV) fluorescence spectroscopy, a gas chromatography/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) and a gas chromatography (GC). The results indicate that significant proportions of naphthalenes and polycyclic aromatics in the intermediate volatiles turned into furans, phenols and non-aromatics, which are easier to be reformed on Ni-based catalysts, via the Fe/bio-char pre-reforming, resulting in the increase of the final H 2 and CO yields of the overall process. At high pre-reforming temperatures (550–600 °C), the coke formation on Ni-based catalyst was significantly inhibited due to the Fe/bio-char pre-reforming. In addition, the results indicate that the spent Ni-based catalyst had more free NiO and NiAl 2 O 4 spinel than the fresh one, suggesting that the increase in the catalytic activity of Ni-based catalyst during the reforming process was promoted by Fe/bio-char pre-reforming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the interaction of nickel species with alumina versus calcination temperature and nickel loading. A total of 22 Ni/Al 2 O 3 catalysts, calcined at the temperature from 500 to 1000 °C at a 50 °C increment, were employed for the study. High calcination temperature led to the formation of nickel–alumina spinel via the solid phase reaction, which shifted the reduction temperature to higher ranges. The catalyst, however, still achieved good activity after full reduction of the nickel–alumina spinel. Nevertheless, the high calcination temperature led to the collapse of the small pores and the formation of the big one, resulting in the significant decrease of specific surface area. At higher nickel loadings, more nickel species weakly interacted with alumina formed as the reactive center of alumina was saturated. With the increase of nickel loading, the catalytic activities were not varied much but the catalytic stability and the resistivity towards coking enhanced. The coke produced over the catalyst at low nickel loading tended to be amorphous, while the coke produced at the high nickel loading was more fibrous. Furthermore, the coke produced at the low loading contained more small aromatic rings and more oxygen-containing functional groups. The higher nickel loading possibly promoted the catalytic cracking reactions to form more catalytic coke while the low nickel loading probably favored the polymerization reactions to form the polymeric coke. In addition, the calcination at the higher temperature could enhance the stability of the catalysts, which might be related to the enlarged pore sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]