Abstract
Steam reforming of methanol for production of hydrogen can be carried out over copper based catalyst. In the work presented here, the catalytic properties of a CuO/ZrO2 catalyst (8.5wt%) synthesised by a templating technique were investigated with respect to activity, long term stability, CO formation, and response to oxygen addition to the feed. The results were obtained using a fixed bed reactor and compared to a commercial methanol synthesis catalyst CuO/ZnO/Al2O3. It is shown that, depending on the time on stream, the temporary addition of oxygen to the feed has a beneficial effect on the activity of the CuO/ZrO2 catalyst. After activation, the CuO/ZrO2 catalyst is found to be more active (per copper mass) than the CuO/ZnO/Al2O3 system, more stable during time on stream (measured up to 250h), and to produce less CO. Structural characterisation by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) reveals that the catalyst (as prepared) consists of crystalline, tetragonal zirconia with small domain sizes (about 60Å) and small/disordered crystallites of CuO.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
L.F. Brown, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 26 (2001) 381.
J. Agrell, H. Birgersson and M. Boutonnet, J. Power Sources 106 (2002) 249.
S. Velu, K. Suzuki, M.P. Kapoor, F. Ohashi and T. Osaki, Appl. Catal. 213 (2001) 47.
B. Lindström, L.J. Petterson and P.G. Menon, Appl. Catal. 234 (2002) 111.
M.L. Cubeiro and J.L.G. Fierro, Appl. Catal. 168 (1998) 307.
Y. Choi and H.G. Stenger, Appl. Catal. B: Environ. 38 (2002) 259.
W. Ning, H. Shen and H. Liu, Appl. Catal. A: Gen. 211 (2001) 153.
H.A. Gasteiger, N. Markovic, P.N. Ross and E. Cairs, J. Phys. Chem. B 98 (1994) 617.
V.M. Schmidt, P. Brocherhoff, B. Hohlein, R. Menzer and U. Stimming, J. Power Sources 144 (1994) 175.
R.O. Idem and N.N. Bakhshi, Can. J. Chem. Eng. 74 (1996) 288.
J. Agrell, K. Hasselbo, K. Jansson, S.G. Järas and M. Boutonnet, Appl. Catal. A: Gen. 211 (2001) 239.
G.C. Shen, S. Fujita, S. Matsumoto and N. Takezawa, J. Mol. Catal. A: Chem. 124 (1997) 123.
B. Lindström and L.J. Pettersson, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 26 (2001) 923.
C.J. Jiang, D.L. Trimm and M.S. Wainwright, Appl. Catal. A: Gen. 93 (1993) 245.
B. Lindström and L.J. Pettersson, J. Power Sources 106 (2002) 264.
R.O. Idem and N.N. Bakhshi, Chem. Eng. Sci. 51 (1996) 3697.
J.P. Breen and J.R.H. Ross, Catal. Today 51 (1999) 521.
M. Antonietti and H.-P. Hentze, Colloid Polym. Sci. 274 (1996) 696.
M. Antonietti and H.-P. Hentze, Adv. Mater. 8 (1996) 840.
M. Antonietti, R.A. Caruso, C.G. Göltner and M.C. Weissenberger, Macromolecules 32 (1999) 1383.
H.-P. Hentze and M. Antonietti, Curr. Opin. Solid St. Mater. Sci. 5 (2001) 343.
R.A. Caruso, M. Giersig, F. Willig and M. Antonietti, Langmuir 14 (1998) 6333.
J.H. Schattka, D.G. Shchukin, J. Jia, M. Antonietti and R.A. Caruso, Chem. Mater. 14 (2002) 5103.
T. Ressler, J. Synch. Rad. 5 (1998) 118.
J.J. Rehr, C.H. Booth, F. Bridges and S.I. Zabinsky, Phys. Rev. B 49 (1994) 12347.
R.O. Idem and N.N. Bakhshi, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 34 (1995) 1548.
M.M. Günter, T. Ressler, R.E. Jentoft and B. Bems, J. Catal. 203 (2001) 133.
E.D. Guerreiro, O.F. Gorriz, G. Larsen and L.A. Arrúa, Appl. Catal. A 204 (2000) 33.
D.G. Löffler, S.D. McDermott and C.N. Renn, J. Power Sources (2002) 5063
K. Narusawa, M. Hayashida, Y. Kamiya, H. Roppongi, D. Kurashima and K. Wakabayashi, JSAE Rev. 24 (2003) 41.
H. Purnama, T. Ressler, R.E. Jentoft, H. Soerijanto, R. Schlögl and R. Schomäcker, Appl. Catal. A., in press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Purnama, H., Girgsdies, F., Ressler, T. et al. Activity and Selectivity of a Nanostructured CuO/ZrO2 Catalyst in the Steam Reforming of Methanol. Catalysis Letters 94, 61–68 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:CATL.0000019332.80287.6b
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:CATL.0000019332.80287.6b