CRYSTAL-PLANE EFFECT OF CERIA ON THE ACTIVITY OF CuO/CeO2 FOR OXIDATIVE STEAM REFORMING OF METHANOL

Hydrogen, one of the most interesting alternative energy, is forecasted to become a major source of the energy because it can be produced from renewable sources such as biomass. Methanol is one of the most promising liquid fuels for hydrogen production since it can be produced from biomass and it accounts for additional value of biomass and sustainable energy. In the present work, oxidative steam reforming of methanol (OSRM) reaction is intensively considered in hydrogen production by using Cu catalysts. Moreover, it was reported that not only surface area but also shape of ceria catalyst essentially influenced on catalytic activity. This research focused on both ceria morphologies and catalytic activity for the OSRM reaction. A single-crystalline was selectively prepared by hydrothermal method at various temperatures from 100 to 220 degrees C under 6 M NaOH concentrations. Both SEM and XRD results revealed that different morphologies of the ceria nanocrystals wereobtained from different hydrothermal temperatures. The hydrothermal temperature has a significant effect on both shape and crystallite size of ceria. Moreover, the best catalytic activity was obtained from ceria prepared at 160 degrees C, followed by 120 degrees C and 140 degrees C. The resulting catalytic activity was found that CuO/CeO2 catalyst exhibited higher methanol conversion and hydrogen yield than ceria supports.