H2 Production by Autothermal Reforming of n-Dodecane over Highly Active Ru–Ni–Ce–Al2O3 Catalyst

Autothermal reforming of n-dodecane, a main constituent of jet fuel, over Ru-promoted nickel–ceria–alumina-based catalyst was carried out in a fixed-bed microreactor operating at atmospheric pressure. The temperature was varied from 873 to 1073 K, space velocity range was 96000–480000 h–1, and H2O/C molar ratio in the feed was between 1.5 and 4.0. The monometallic and bimetallic catalysts were prepared by the sol–gel method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface area, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and temperature-programmed desorption of H2 (TPD of H2) were used to characterize the prepared catalysts. Characterization results reveal that the presence of Ru and CeO2 enhances the catalyst reducibility. H2-TPD data indicate that Ru-promoted Ni–Ce–Al2O3 catalyst exhibits larger nickel surface area compared to monometallic Ni and Ru catalysts. The activity and hydrogen yield on the Ru-promoted Ni–Ce–Al2O3 catalyst was observed to be significantly higher than those on the monometallic catalysts under t...