Studies on Cu-ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst for hydrogen production via autothermal reforming of methanol

The Cu-ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst supported on monolithic cordierite substrate for production of hydrogen via methanol autothermal reforming was prepared by co-precipitation method and characterized by XRD and H-2- TPR. The effects of Cu loading and reaction conditions on the catalyst activity and reaction rate were Investigated. The results showed that low Cu loading was in favor of the reduction and uniform distribution of the catalyst. The addition of gamma-Al2O3 promoted the reduction of Cu. The higher H, production rate and CO2 selectivity were obtained under the conditions of the Cu loading of 20% similar to 60 %, molar ratio of O-2 to methanol of 0.3. and gas hourly space velocity based on methanol of 4 000 similar to 12 000 h(-1). The reduced Cu is the active site for the methanol autothermal reforming.