Advanced approach for catalytic decomposition of tar: Electrically heated catalyst system

Abstract The catalytic steam reforming of tars was conducted using the electrically heating catalyst (EHC) system, having a fast start-up and shutdown advantages as an advanced approach. A compact EHC unit was prepared by the washcoating method using a NiO/MgO/γ-Al2O3 (NMA) catalyst slurry on thermally treated Fe-Cr alloy monolithic substrates. The catalyst slurry (0.0252 g of NMA) was successfully deposited on the substrate's unit gram. The desired reaction temperature (700 – 750 C) could be reached within 20 sec by supplying about 200 – 300 watts (70 – 80 A) to the EHC unit. Carbon conversion in benzene steam reforming (BSR) was 102%, and the gas productivity was 89.3 % in the EHC system at 750 C. The EHC system is one of the effective ways for the BSR in controlling coke formation, compared with the results of the BSR in the conventional fixed-bed system. It is also suggested that some parts should be modified and further investigated to scale up the EHC system successfully.