Hydrogen production by auto-thermal reforming of ethanol over nickel catalysts supported on Ce-modified mesoporous zirconia: Effect of Ce/Zr molar ratio

Ce-modified mesoporous zirconia (Zr–Ce-X) supports were prepared by a templating sol–gel method with a variation of Ce/Zr molar ratio (X). 20 wt% Ni catalysts supported on Zr–Ce-X (X = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9) were then prepared by an incipient wetness impregnation method for use in hydrogen production by auto-thermal reforming of ethanol. The effect of Ce/Zr molar ratio (X) on the catalytic performance of Ni/Zr–Ce-X (X = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9) catalysts was investigated. All the Ni/Zr–Ce-X (X = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9) catalysts exhibited complete conversion of ethanol at 500 °C, while product distributions over the catalysts were different depending on the Ce/Zr molar ratio (X). Hydrogen selectivity over Ni/Zr–Ce-X (X = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9) catalysts showed a volcano-shaped curve with respect to Ce/Zr molar ratio (X). Among the catalysts tested, Ni/Zr–Ce-0.7 showed the best catalytic performance in hydrogen production by auto-thermal reforming of ethanol.