Development of sulfur and carbon resistant catalysts for hydrogen production from low-temperature steam reforming of logistic fuels

Steam reforming of logistic fuels is a viable and effective way to produce H2 for fuel cells because of their existing infrastructures and high energy density. However, it is critical because logistic fuels contain heavy hydrocarbons, aromatic compounds as well as sulfur. In this study, a better reforming catalyst has been developed by adding 5% Co into bimetallic Rh-Ni catalyst that was developed in our recent work. The catalytic performance for steam reforming of the commercial diesel with 15 ppmw sulfur was greatly improved. It was found that not only sulfur level, but also heavy hydrocarbons level in feed fuels considerably affected the reforming catalyst performance. Doping 2 wt% Y2O3 into Ce-Al support could further improve the performance of trimetallic Rh-Ni-Co catalyst. However, higher amount of Y2O3 was detrimental. The studies in support effect show that the proper metal-support and metal-metal interactions are greatly vital in developing a high sulfur and carbon resistant catalyst for steam reforming of logistic fuels containing sulfur.