Methane Steam Reforming on the Pt/CeO2 Catalyst: Effect of Daily Start-Up and Shut-Down on Long-Term Stability of the Catalyst

An environmentally friendly Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) requires catalysts operating in cyclic mode, producing H2 at a steady rate with high CO2 selectivity and minimum CO clean-up. Here, the catalyst 1% Pt/CeO2 was synthesized using the method of solution combustion synthesis (SCS) method, and investigated towards methane steam reforming (MSR) reaction. Preliminary tests were performed by varying steam-to-carbon ratio (S/C), gas hourly space velocity (GHSV), and time-on-stream (TOS). The catalyst showed near equilibrium CH4 conversion and high H2 concentration (75% dry basis, N2-free) obtained at S/C = 2.8 and GHSV = 24,000 h–1. The catalytic activity was stable after 25 cycles of start-up and shut-down operations, equivalent to 150 h of TOS. XRD, TEM, and XPS techniques were used tp characterize either the fresh and aged catalyst after 150 h of TOS.