Silica-Supported Bimetallic Co-Cu Composite - An Efficient Catalyst for Ethanol Based Hydrogen Production by Steam Reforming Technique

During the last few decades, there has been a growing interest in developing alternative energy systems to fossil fuels. Steam reforming of ethanol for producing hydrogen gas is promising since ethanol can readily be obtained through bio-mass fermentation. In the present work, catalytic activity of silica-supported bimetallic Co-Cu composites, for hydrogen production by steam reforming of ethanol, has been studied. A fixed-bed reactor was used to assess the performance of composite catalysts over the temperature range: 300-600°C. Catalyst activity, using varying water:ethanol molar ratio, was evaluated in terms of hydrogen yield and product selectivity. Ethanol conversion, hydrogen yield and selectivity were found to increase on raising water: ethanol molar ratio, catalyst load and the Co:Cu ratio. The catalyst with composition 8% Co/4% Cu/SiO2 at water:ethanol ratio 9:1 and temperature 500°C, gave ethanol conversion as high as 97.2%.