Steam Reforming of n-Dodecane over Ru−Ni-Based Catalysts

Steam reforming of n-dodecane has been carried out with the goal of development of new and highly active catalysts for hydrogen production. Newly designed RuO-NiO-CeO2-Al2O3 catalysts have been successfully prepared with various loadings of Ni by sol−gel method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), H2 TPD, BET surface area, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and temperature-programmed desorption of CO2 (TPD of CO2) were used to characterize the prepared catalysts. The coke formation was studied by temperature programmed oxidation (TPO). The reforming of n-dodecane was carried out in a microreactor and investigated at different reaction temperatures, space velocity, steam/carbon ratio, and time-on-stream. Characterization results reveal that the presence of Ru and CeO2 enhances the catalyst reducibility. H2 TPD and CO2 TPD data indicate that 1 wt % Ru/2.5 wt % Ni/3 wt % CeO2/Al2O3 (1R2.5N3CA) catalyst exhibits larger nickel surface area and higher basicity compared to all the other catalysts. The activity and hyd...