Trimetallic ni-based catalysts over gadolinia-doped ceria for green fuel production

The present work concerns the characterization of trimetallic nickel catalysts, NiMoRe (Nickel/Molybdenum/Rhenium), NiMoCu (Nickel/Molybdenum/Copper) and NiMoCo (Nickel/Molybdenum/Cobalt), supported on gadolinia-doped ceria and the evaluation of their catalytic performance in the auto-thermal reforming of ethanol to hydrogen. Catalysts have been prepared by wet impregnation and characterized by XRD, SEM-EDX, TG-DSC, TEM, CHNS, H2-TPR and micro-Raman spectroscopy. The resistance of Ni-alloy catalysts to the carbon deposition and sulfur poisoning has been studied. All catalysts show a similar behavior in the auto-thermal reforming reaction: 100% of ethanol conversion and high selectivity to syngas products, up to 77 vol.%. At 800 °C the coke deposition is very low (less than 0.34 wt%). Sulfur content affects the selectivity and the activity of the catalysts, especially towards the coke formation: high sulfur content promotes the ethylene formation, therefore the amount of coke deposited on spent catalyst increases. NiMoCu seems to be the trimetallic catalyst less sensitive to this aspect.