SO3 decomposition over β–SiC and SiO2 supported CuFe2O4: A stability and kinetic study

CuFe2O4/β–SiC and CuFe2O4/SiO2 catalysts were prepared by wet impregnation method, following the high temperature solid state route and their catalytic performance is evaluated in the SO3 decomposition reaction of the Sulfur–Iodine (S–I) cycle for hydrogen production. The synthesized catalysts are characterized by XRD, FT–IR, TGA, XPS, N2–BET, TEM, HR–TEM, FESEM–EDS and elemental mapping. CuFe2O4/β–SiC catalyst shows higher activity and stability while sintering is observed in the spent CuFe2O4/SiO2 whose activity decreased during the reaction time on stream. Kinetic studies were performed over CuFe2O4/β-SiC in the temperature range of 800–900 °C using wide range of space time, 6.54–44.40 kg h kmol−1. A heterogeneous kinetic model was developed based on the product distribution and the reaction rates determined by the model fitted well with the experimental rates at different temperatures.