Experimental studies on renewable hydrogen production by steam reforming of glycerol over zirconia promoted on Ni/Al2O3 catalyst

Narasimha Reddy Ravuru; Sanjay Patel; Amit Kumar

doi:10.1515/ijcre-2023-0002

Article

Experimental studies on renewable hydrogen production by steam reforming of glycerol over zirconia promoted on Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst

Narasimha Reddy Ravuru , Sanjay Patel and Amit Kumar

Published/Copyright: December 20, 2023

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From the journal International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering Volume 22 Issue 1

Abstract

The impact of ZrO₂ as a catalytic promoter for nickel-based alumina supported catalysts has been studied for the hydrogen synthesis via glycerol steam reforming. Hydrogen is a promising contender of clean fuel and has a key significance in the quest of an environment-preservation, low emission and more sustainable energy approach. Glycerol is a by-product produced during production of biodiesel by trans-esterification of vegetable oils. The higher hydrogen content in glycerol makes it the potential renewable feedstock for hydrogen production. Steam reforming process is the best method available which is highest in energy efficiency and most importantly most economical. The production of catalysts was based on the wet impregnation and co-precipitation methods. The majority of the bulk and surface properties of different synthesized catalysts were considered and determined by several characterization techniques like X-ray diffraction technique, BET surface area and scanning electron microscopy. The performance of catalyst is based on glycerol conversion and hydrogen yield obtained from the steam reforming process taking place in the fixed bed catalytic reactor. The effect of different operating conditions like contact time, temperature, metal loading, and steam to glycerol ratio were investigated to produce maximum hydrogen and glycerol conversion. The results show that the incorporation of promoter 2 % ZrO₂ improved the activity of Ni/Al₂O₃ catalysts significantly resulting 96 % glycerol conversion, 84 % hydrogen production and greater stability at contact time = 15 kg cat s/mol, temperature = 800 °C, steam to glycerol ratio = 9:1 mol/mol, and pressure = 1 atm.

Keywords: steam reforming; zirconium oxide; nickel; hydrogen; glycerol

Corresponding author: Sanjay Patel, Chemical Engineering Department, Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad 382481, India, E-mail: sanjay.patel@nirmauni.ac.in

Research ethics: The research ethics and research integrity has been followed by all the authors.
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission. Narasimha Reddy Ravuru: conceptualization, methodology, investigation, data collection and analysis, writing original draft and revisions, proof reading and editing of final version. Sanjay Patel: intellectual content, interpretation of data, validation, supervision. Amit Kumar: formal analysis, review and editing.
Competing interests: There are no conflicts of interest.
Research funding: None declared.
Data availability: Data will be made available on request.

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Received: 2023-01-02

Accepted: 2023-12-05

Published Online: 2023-12-20

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/ijcre-2023-0002

Keywords for this article

steam reforming; zirconium oxide; nickel; hydrogen; glycerol