Biowaste derived ethanol is an important
feedstock for carbon neutral
hydrogen production. It is liquid at atmospheric conditions, has a
high hydrogen to carbon ratio, and it can be generated from biomass,
lignocellulosic wastes, and sewage sludge, offering opportunities
for converting waste to hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels-based
sources of hydrogen. A large-scale application of bioethanol for hydrogen
production has the potential to considerably reduce CO2 emissions. Recent reviews on ethanol reforming for hydrogen production
show a growth in research interest in this topic, although primarily
focused on ethanol steam reforming (ESR) in which steam, in addition
to ethanol, also acts as an additional source of hydrogen. Ethanol
partial oxidation (POx) is another relatively well-studied route,
which is exothermic in nature; however, hydrogen selectivity can be
compromised due to the presence of oxygen leading to water formation.
Ethanol decomposition and dehydrogenation (ED) are relatively less
studied compared to the other two routes, possibly due to coke formation
that often leads to catalyst deactivation. The past decade has seen
an increasing number of papers on ED to exploit it for the production
of aldehydes, acetates, and ethers, as well as various forms of carbon
along with hydrogen. The goal of this article is to provide a review
on the recent development in nonoxidative ethanol dehydrogenation
and ethanol decomposition catalysis for hydrogen production. Catalytic
studies over the past few decades have benefitted from the unprecedented
growth in experimental techniques, particularly from in situ transmission
electron microscopy (in situ TEM) and near ambient X-ray photoelectron
spectroscopy (NA-XPS), allowing researchers to obtain dynamic structural
information caused by reactant–catalyst interactions leading
to greater insights based on more realistic information. A review
incorporating the current status will allow us to better understand
the structure–performance relationship, leading to the implementation
of practical and realistic considerations for catalysts synthesis
and reactor design for stable performance. The present review is an
attempt to put together the recent progress, mainly in the past decade,
on the catalysts for ethanol dehydrogenation, experimental conditions
for effective extraction of hydrogen and targeted products, and metal–support
interactions and their contribution in directing the reaction pathways.
For the ease of reading and comprehension, the article is divided
into subsections based on metals (transition metals and noble metals)
and supports. The review concludes with a table listing the catalysts,
synthesis method, reaction environments, and key findings for a quick
and easy access to the critical systems assessed during the review
process.