Catalytic steam reforming of simulated bio-oil for green hydrogen production using highly active LaNixCo1−xO3 perovskite catalysts

Abstract

Catalytic steam reforming (SR) of agricultural waste derived bio-oil for hydrogen production is an unique technology, offering twin benefits of waste management and sustainable energy production. In the present study, a series of LaNi_xCo_1−xO₃ perovskite catalysts (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0) were used for the steam reforming of simulated bio-oil to produce green hydrogen. The fresh and spent catalysts were characterized by various characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), H₂-temperature programmed reduction (TPR), BET (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller), Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of variation of reaction temperature, Ni and Co species composition, steam to carbon molar ratio (SCMR), and weight hourly space-time (WHST) on gaseous product yield and simulated bio-oil conversion were evaluated using a fixed catalytic bed reactor unit. The results revealed that LaNi_0.5Co_0.5O₃ exhibited the best catalytic activity (83% hydrogen yield and 95% conversion) towards hydrogen production, among all other combinations of LaNi_xCo_1−xO₃ catalysts at 650 °C and a space-time and SCMR of 18.4 kg_cat h kmol_bio-oil⁻¹ and 2.7 respectively for 12 h. Moreover, a catalyst deactivation study performed using TG, Raman, and SEM analysis revealed that the deactivation was primarily due to two types of coke (amorphous and filamentous carbon) deposition.