Preparation of highly dispersed lignite-char-supported cobalt catalyst for stably steam reforming of biomass tar at low temperature.

• Simple method for the preparation of highly-dispersed Co-based catalysts. • Co 0.15 -C 2 H 3 O 2 − has high Co loading (16 wt%) and small metallic particles (3.77 nm). • 98.7 % toluene conversion was achieved at 400 °C over Co 0.2 -C 2 H 3 O 2 −. • Co 0.15 -C 2 H 3 O 2 − exhibits excellent stability during 100 h reforming test. • Co 0.15 -C 2 H 3 O 2 − help to produce 283.8 mL.g corncob −1.g cat −1.h−1 H 2 at 480 °C. The removal of generated tar during the biomass gasification is a serious issue. Catalytic tar cracking is one of the most efficient methods to reduce tar deposition while many common tar cracking catalysts suffer problems of serious carbon deposition and active metal sintering, especially at low temperatures. Therefore, developing catalysts with both high activity and stability is critical. In this work, we aim to prepare catalysts with a high active metal contents, a small metal particle size and a high dispersion to contribute to the highly efficient tar removal at relatively low temperatures. By adjusting the type and the concentration of the Co precursor solution when lignite is used as the carbon precursor, we prepared a series of catalysts which were then applied for both activity and stability test of the steam reforming of model tar and biomass tar. The results show that Co 0.15 -C 2 H 3 O 2 − prepared with a 0.15 M solution of Co(C 2 H 3 O 2) 2 ·4H 2 O achieves a Co content of about 16.0 wt% with an average particle size of about 3.77 nm and a relatively high metallic Co dispersion. For steam reforming of toluene, the catalyst achieves an almost 100 % toluene conversion at 400 °C and exhibits a high stability in the 100 h test. Moreover, Co 0.15 -C 2 H 3 O 2 −, which produces approximately 283.8 mL.g corncob −1.g cat −1.h−1 H 2 catalytically, is also active and stable in biomass tar cracking. The catalyst prepared in the present study by using the economic and simple ion-exchange method also has a well-dispersed nano-metal-loaded structure and can efficiently remove the tar at a low temperature with a high stability, which will contribute to the industrial application in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]