Rh-Ni and Rh-Co catalysts for autothermal reforming of gasoline

Rh doped Ni and Co catalysts, Rh-M/CeO₂(20 wt %)-Al ₂O₃ (0.2 wt % of Rh; M = Ni or Co, 20 wt %) were synthesized to produce hydrogen via autothermal reforming (ATR) of commercial gasoline at 700 oC under the conditions of a S/C ratio of 2.0, an O/C ratio of 0.84, and a gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 20,000 h-1. The Rh-Ni/CeO ₂(20 wt %)-Al₂O₃ catalyst (1) exhibited excellent activities, with H₂ and (H₂+CO) yields of 2.04 and 2.58 mol/mol C, respectively. In addition, this catalyst proved to be highly stable over 100 h without catalyst deactivation, as evidenced by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) and elemental analyses. Compared to 1, Rh-Co/CeO₂(20 wt %)-Al₂O₃ catalyst (2) exhibited relatively low stability, and its activity decreased after 57 h. In line with this observation, elemental analyses confirmed that nearly no carbon species were formed at 1 while carbon deposits (10 wt %) were found at 2 following the reaction, which suggests that carbon coking is the main process for catalyst deactivation.