A theoretical and experimental study on steam reforming of bio-oil over Ni/Co modified carbon-based catalysts

Carbon-based catalyst was prepared by Ni/Co modification of acid pickling biochar from peanut shell. The chemical and structural properties of the modified catalyst were analyzed by BET, XRD, FTIR and SEM. At the same time, the catalytic properties of metal loading (4 wt%, 8 wt%, 12 wt%), temperature and S/C on steam reforming of acetic acid were studied. It was found that the acid-pickled biochar had abundant pore structure and oxygen-containing functional groups, and the specific surface area was up to 344.00 m(2)/g, which was mainly mesoporous structure and provided more active sites for metal particles loading. Under the conditions of 600celcius, S/C = 3 and reaction time of 30 min, 8Ni/HPC showed the best catalytic capacity, with hydrogen content of 71.10% and acetic acid conversion of 88.03%. With the increase of temperature, the conversion of acetic acid increased obviously, but the selectivity of hydrogen decreased. Appropriate S/C can improve the selectivity of hydrogen, while excessive S/C will decrease the catalyst activity. Therefore, low-cost carbon supported Ni/Co have higher catalytic activity for the production of H-2. The results provide a basis for the design of a new carbon based catalyst and their application in steam reforming of bio-oil.