Hydrogen production via steam reforming of small organic compounds present in the aqueous fraction of bio-oil over Ni-La-Me catalysts (Me = Ce, Ti, Zr)

Biofuel production from biomass sources emerges as a promising alternative to solve the actual environmental crisis and lead to a transition to a carbon-free future. In this sense, hydrogen produced through steam reforming of a biomass-derived biofuel, such as bio-oil, appears as an interesting energetic vector. The aim of this work is the hydrogen production through steam reforming of small organic model compounds present in the aqueous fraction of bio-oil (ethanol, acetic acid, acetone) and, for a better approximation to a real system, emulate such aqueous fraction by a representative mixture of these. Ternary mixed oxides Ni-La-Me catalysts (Me = Ce, Ti, Zr) were prepared, characterized through X-ray diffraction, N-2 adsorption- desorption isotherms, thermogravimetric analysis, cyclic voltammetry, and scanning electron microscopy, and tested in the steam reforming reactions. Results indicate that, due to the intrinsic H2O adsorption capacity of ZrO2 as well to a higher number of oxygen vacancies in the catalyst structure, Ni-La-Zr presents interesting properties for its potential applicability as industrial catalyst for hydrogen production through steam reforming. On the other hand, the strong metal-support interactions on Ni-La-Ti led to a lower catalytic activity caused by a lower segregation of Ni crystallites from the mixed oxide structure.