Steam reforming of biomass tar with toluene as the model compound was studied using Sr-doped Ni/La 2 O 3 catalysts prepared using two methods, i.e. co-impregnation of Sr and Ni on La 2 O 3 support (Ni-Sr/La 2 O 3 catalyst) and sequential impregnation of Sr on Ni/La 2 O 3 catalyst (SNL catalyst), which were then calcined at various temperatures (500, 700, and 900 C). These two types of catalysts are found to possess better catalytic performance than the undoped Ni/La 2 O 3 catalyst at the same calcination temperature due to the presence of Sr, which helps in water adsorption at low steam/carbon (S/C) ratio. Moreover, the catalytic performance for catalysts calcined at various temperatures decreases following this trend: 500 C > 700 C > 900 C due to lower BET surface area and lower surface active metal available for reaction. In addition, it is also observed that the Sr/Ni/La 2 O 3 catalyst has better performance than the Ni-Sr/La 2 O 3 catalyst at the same calcination temperature. Further characterization results suggest that in the Ni-Sr/La 2 O 3 catalyst, the Sr is present between Ni and La 2 O 3 support. On the other hand, Sr in the Sr/Ni/La 2 O 3 catalyst is thought to be located on the surface of Ni/La 2 O 3 due to the preparation method. This study shows that more Sr on the catalyst surface has better catalytic activity and stability in steam reforming of toluene.
IntroductionThe need for a renewable alternative of energy sources is increasingly urgent due to the rapid depletion of fossil fuel reserves and the costly price tag of crude oil. The utilization of biomass has been receiving more attention as an abundant and cheap source of renewable energy. Among them, biomass gasication has garnered considerable attention for hydrogen/ synthesis gas production, which can then be used for Fischer Tropsch processes, syntheses of methanol and electricity production in the case of a fuel cell. [1][2][3][4] The main challenge in biomass gasication technology is the removal of tar, which is a mixture of various condensable hydrocarbon compounds containing toluene as the major component, followed by naphthalene. 3 Furthermore, tar can polymerize to form more complex structures and aerosols. Tar can condense on particulate lters, heat exchangers, and engines, resulting in plugging and attrition. This further causes a decrease in efficiency of the process operations and an increase in maintenance and operating costs. Tar removal methods can be classied as primary or secondary. Primary methods include all measures taken in the gasication reactor to prevent tar from being formed in the gasier or to convert it.In secondary methods, pretreatment, either chemical or physical, is performed downstream of the gasier. Both primary and secondary methods require the use of a catalyst.Various metal catalysts have been investigated, such as Ni 5-12 Co, [13][14][15][16][9][10][11][12][16][17][18] and noble metal 19 for the steam reforming of biomass tar using toluene as the model compound. Among those metal catalysts, Ni cataly...