Kinetic studies using temperature-scanning: the steam-reforming of methanol Original Research Article

We report on an experimental investigation of methanol–steam reforming over a commercial Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst, BASF K3-110, using temperature-scanning (TS) methods to increase the rate of data acquisition. This technique allows us to complete an experimental program on the kinetics of this reaction on one catalyst, at one pressure and feed composition, in approximately 4 h of fully automated reactor operation. Real-time measurement of methanol conversion was done using a mass spectrometer (MS). Due to the speed of data acquisition by the MS and the fact that thermal steady-state does not need to be established, the TS method produced a large set of data many times faster than the conventional isothermal methods of reactor operation used in such studies to date. In order to compare the results obtained using the TS method to those obtained using the conventional isothermal method, collaboration with the Hydrogen Research Group at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) was established. Using a kinetic model developed by the RMC group, the rate parameters obtained from TSR data compared well with the parameters obtained by the RMC group. Some differences in rate parameters were observed, especially in the parameters affecting the prediction of the rate of CO production. Since the issue of CO production is central to the utility of this process for producing hydrogen for fuel cells, we will discuss this difference between our respective models in detail, including discussions on lack of conventional isothermal data, and rate data correction due to catalyst decay.