Hydrogen production from methanol steam reforming catalyzed by Fe modified Cu supported on attapulgite clay

A series of Cu catalysts supported on attapulgite (ATP) clay modified by Fe were synthesized by impregnation method and employed to investigate the catalytic performance for hydrogen production by methanol steam reforming (MSR) in the range of 240–315 °C. The physicochemical characteristics of Fe modified Cu catalysts supported on ATP were tested by N2 adsorption, XRD, SEM, H2-TPR, CO2-TPD and NH3-TPD. An excellent MSR activity, high methanol conversion and high selectivity of H2 with ignorable CO content, was achieved on Fe modified Cu/ATP catalysts. The presence of Fe promotes the reduction of CuO to metal Cu and improves the dispersion of Cu on ATP due to the synergistic effects between CuO and Fe2O3, which contribute to the high activity for MSR. ATP, as an easily available and cheap material, is a promising support of Cu-based catalysts for hydrogen production from methanol steam reforming.