Activity and degradation of Pt/Al2O3 catalyst assessment in hydrogen release from perhydro-dibenzyltoluene

Liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) is a hydrogen storage and release technology of growing interest due to its excellent properties. Dibenzyltoluene is one of the best performing organic liquids for this purpose. In this work, we investigate the dehydrogenation reaction of perhydro-dibenzyltoluene (18H-DBT) in a batch reactor using Pt/Al2O3 catalysts. The best catalytic results were obtained at 290 degrees C with the catalyst featuring lower Pt loading and higher dispersion, achieving a degree of dehydrogenation (DoD) of 88%. After 45 h of catalytic operation, the degree of dehydrogenation dropped by about 35%. The generation of by-products and physical changes in the Pt sites could be potential causes of the observed catalytic degradation. A cleaning treatment was carried out to restore the initial DoD, but only the productivity was improved, leading to a reduction in reaction times.