Hydrogen Production via Aqueous-phase Reforming of Ethylene Glycol over Nickel-iron Alloy Catalyst: Effect of Cobalt Addition

Aqueous-phase reforming of ethylene glycol for hydrogen generation was investigated over Ni, Fe, NiFe, and NiFeCo catalysts. The effect of the reduction temperature of the NiFeCo alloy catalyst was studied. The NiFe alloy catalyst showed higher catalytic activity than Ni and Fe monocatalysts as a result of their respective functions. Co addition could further enhance the performance of the NiFe alloy catalyst to a much higher level, with ethylene glycol conversion of 95.13% and H2 selectivity of 99.79% achieved under an optimized reduction temperature. The NiFeCo catalyst showed significant catalytic performance under reduction temperatures as low as 300 °C as a result of the formation of metallic Ni, Fe3O4, and Co species, while the highest catalytic activity was obtained under a reduction temperature of 660 °C, where almost all metal species in the NiFeCo catalyst were reduced to the metallic phase. It was suggested that Ni played a core role for ethylene glycol conversion, Fe helped to enhance the wate...