Production of hydrogen for fuel cells by catalytic partial oxidation of ethanol over structured Ru catalysts

A series of Ru catalysts supported on cordierite monoliths, ceramic foams and γ-Al2O3 pellets were prepared and tested for the production of hydrogen by catalytic partial oxidation of ethanol. The catalyst supported on a cordierite monolith exhibited excellent catalytic performance for a wide variety of process conditions and excellent long-term stability with low coke formation. The effect of the steam to ethanol molar ratio on conversion and selectivities was relatively small. A more pronounced effect was observed for the oxygen to ethanol ratio. Overall, catalysts on all three supports were able to completely convert ethanol with high selectivities towards the desired products. The Ru supported on a ceramic foam catalyst provided comparatively better performance, probably due to the smaller pore sizes and higher tortuosity of this support.