title: A novel nano-Ni/SiO2 catalyst for hydrogen production from steam reforming of ethanol.
abstract: Catalytic steam reforming of ethanol has been regarded as a promising way to produce hydrogen. However, catalytic deactivation is a key problem in the process. In this paper, a novel nano-Ni/SiO2 catalyst was prepared by a simple sol-gel method and compared to catalysts prepared by an impregnation method in relation to the steam reforming ethanol process. Good Ni dispersion and high BET surface areas (>700 m2 g(-1)) were obtained for sol-gel catalysts, whereas only 1 m2 g(-1) surface area was obtained for the Ni/SiO2 impregnation catalyst. The results of catalytic steam reforming of ethanol showed that about twice of the hydrogen production was produced with the Ni/SiO2 catalyst prepared by sol-gel (around 0.2 g h(-1)) compared with that prepared by impregnation (around 0.1 g h(-1)). The analysis of the used catalysts showed that 10Ni/SiO2-B and 20Ni/SiO2-B presented the highest stability, while other catalysts were fragmented into small pieces after the reforming process, especially the catalysts prepared by impregnation. A novel catalyst has been produced that has been shown to be effective in the production of hydrogen from the steam reforming of ethanol.
authors.affiliation: Energy & Resources Research Institute, The University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Chunfei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Paul T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D000431:Ethanol / Q000737:chemistry*; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009532:Nickel / Q000737:chemistry*; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D013227:Steam
chemical_list: D013227:Steam; D000431:Ethanol; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D009532:Nickel; D006859:Hydrogen