Hydrogen production from ethanol steam reforming over Rh/CeO2 catalyst

Hydrogen production from ethanol steam reforming over an Rh/CeO2 catalyst was investigated with a stoichiometric feed composition. Ethanol was entirely converted to hydrogen and C-1 products (CO, CO2, CH4) at 400 degrees C due to the remarkable C-C bond cleavage capacity of Rh species. The Rh/CeO2 catalyst exhibited stable activity and selectivity without the obvious deactivation during 70 h on stream test. Structural analysis of the aged catalysts indicated that the strong interaction between Rh and ceria support efficiently inhibited Rh particles sintering (stable at around 2 nm) and coke formation to guarantee catalyst stability. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.