Steam reforming of simulated bio-oil over CeO2-Al2O3 supported Ni and Me-Ni (Me=Ru, Rh) catalysts

Steam reforming of simulated bio-oil was investigated over monometallic (Ni) and bimetallic (Ni-Rh, and Ni-Ru) catalysts. Catalysts were prepared in two subsequent steps: i) the surfactant-assisted co-precipitation to synthesize the CeO2-Al2O3 support, followed by ii) the wetness impregnation of the metal active phase. Steam reforming experiments were carried out at S/C ratio of 5 and temperature of 800 °C. Then, the temperature was decreased to 700 °C and further increased to 800 °C in order to check any catalyst deactivation. Results showed that monometallic Ni-based catalyst deactivated under the studied conditions, whereas the bimetallic systems showed high reforming capacity both in term of model bio-oil conversion and hydrogen yield due to the benefit of incorporating a noble metal promoter on Ni active phase. Moreover, the 1Ru14Ni/25CeO2-Al2O3 catalyst showed the best catalytic performance leading to the highest hydrogen yield and the lowest by-products yields at all the investigated temperatures.