Production of hydrogen by partial oxidation of methanol over ZnO-supported palladium catalysts prepared by microemulsion technique

Selective production of hydrogen by partial oxidation of methanol, using air as oxidant, was studied over a series of ZnO-supported Pd catalysts. Microemulsion-assisted synthesis and conventional impregnation techniques were used for preparation of catalysts containing Pd particles of different sizes. Catalyst characterisation included BET, XRD and TEM analyses. The influence of Pd particle size on catalytic activity and product distribution was studied by carrying out activity measurements at temperatures between 230 and 300 degreesC using a stoichiometric feed composition. All catalysts performed well with respect to methanol conversion and hydrogen yield. Both methanol conversion and hydrogen selectivity increased with increasing reaction temperature, the latter at the expense of water formation. Oxygen conversion was complete throughout the examined temperature range. These selectivity trends, with a strong dependence of hydrogen and carbon monoxide selectivities on methanol conversion and reaction temperature, support a reaction scheme consisting of consecutive methanol combustion, steam reforming and decomposition. More importantly, a correlation between Pd particle size and carbon monoxide selectivity was found. When the microemulsion catalysts are compared, carbon monoxide formation increases with increasing particle size. This was not observed over the impregnated reference catalysts, which exhibited high carbon monoxide-levels throughout the examined temperature range. Bimetallic PdZn particles were detected in spent catalysts by means of XRD and it is suggested that the catalytic activity is dependent on the formation of PdZn, the catalytic function being different from that of Pd-0. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.