Hydrogen production from cellulose catalytic gasification on CeO2/Fe2O3 catalyst

Catalytic steam gasification of biomass can produce clean and renewable hydrogen. In this study, Ce/Fe bimetallic catalysts were used to promote hydrogen production from cellulose steam catalytic reforming at 500–900 °C. The effect of different Ce/Fe ratios on the catalytic performance of hydrogen production was studied. The distribution of products, gas composition, carbon deposition and the stability of the catalyst were analyzed with variant approaches. The results show that the catalytic performance of the CeO2/Fe2O3 catalyst in relation to hydrogen production was much better than pure CeO2 or Fe2O3. When the ratio of Ce:Fe was 3:7, the maximum yield of the H2 was 28.58 mmol at 800 °C. CeFeO3 could be generated at 800 °C or higher temperature after redox reactions without forming CeO2/Fe2O3 clathrate. And the existence of CeFeO3 enhanced the thermal stability of Ce/Fe catalyst. The presence of CeO2 not only improved the oxidative ability of the iron catalysts, but also was in favour of the oxidation of possible deposited carbon on the surface of the used catalysts.