Ethanol steam reforming over Co/ZnO and Rh/Al2O3 catalysts in a microchannel catalytic reactor

The activity of Co/ZnO and Rh/Al2O3 catalysts in ethanol steam reforming was studied in a traditional tubular reactor with a fixed catalyst bed and in a microchannel reactor. At temperatures of 600 and 700°C, the Rh/Al2O3 catalyst was much more active and stable than Co/ZnO. A comparison between the reactors of two types showed that the ethanol steam reforming occurred more efficiently in the microchannel reactor because of intense heat and mass exchange. The specific hydrogen production per unit weight of catalyst in the microchannel reactor was almost twice as high as that in the traditional reactor.