Hydrogen production by steam reforming of methane over mixed Ni/MgAl + CrFe3O4 catalysts

Steam reforming of methane (SRM) was performed over a mixed Ni/MgAl + CrFe3O4 catalyst. The catalyst was prepared by physical mixing method and it was compared to Nil MgAl and iron or chromium promoted WNi/MgAl catalysts prepared by impregnation method. Catalysts were characterized by various analytical techniques such as nitrogen physisorption, TPR, XRD, TGA and SEM. The catalytic activity in a fixed-bed reactor was investigated at a temperature range of 500-700 degrees C, 1 bar pressure and feed molar ratio of H2O/CH4 = 2. TPR and XRD illustrated that segregated Ni particles were observed with promoted M-Ni/MgAl catalysts and it leads to reduce the active Ni metal. The addition of the Cr/Fe3O4 catalyst activates steam and easily reacts with methane. Consequently, physically mixed catalysts showed higher hydrogen selectivity and methane conversion than the other catalysts. Copyright (C) 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.