H<sub>2</sub> Production from Catalytic Methane Decomposition Using Fe/x-ZrO<sub>2</sub> and Fe-Ni/(x-ZrO<sub>2</sub>) (x = 0, La<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>, WO<sub>3</sub>) Catalysts

oleh: Fahad Al-Mubaddel, Samsudeen Kasim, Ahmed A. Ibrahim, Abdulrhman S. Al-Awadi, Anis H. Fakeeha, Ahmed S. Al-Fatesh

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2020-07-01

Deskripsi

An environmentally-benign way of producing hydrogen is methane decomposition. This study focused on methane decomposition using Fe and Fe-Ni catalysts, which were dispersed over different supports by the wet-impregnation method. We observed the effect of modifying ZrO<sub>2</sub> with La<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> and WO<sub>3</sub> in terms of H<sub>2</sub> yield and carbon deposits. The modification led to a higher H<sub>2</sub> yield in all cases and WO<sub>3</sub>-modified support gave the highest yield of about 90% and was stable throughout the reaction period. The reaction conditions were at 1 atm, 800 °C, and 4000 mL(hg<sub>cat</sub>)<sup>−1</sup> space velocity. Adding Ni to Fe/x-ZrO<sub>2</sub> gave a higher H<sub>2</sub> yield and stability for ZrO<sub>2</sub> and La<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> + ZrO<sub>2</sub>-supported catalysts whose prior performances and stabilities were very poor. Catalyst samples were analyzed by characterization techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen physisorption, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), and Raman spectroscopy. The phases of iron and the supports were identified using XRD while the BET revealed a significant decrease in the specific surface areas of fresh catalysts relative to supports. A progressive change in Fe’s oxidation state from Fe<sup>3+</sup> to Fe<sup>0</sup> was observed from the H<sub>2</sub>-TPR results. The carbon deposits on Fe/ZrO<sub>2</sub> and Fe/La<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> + ZrO<sub>2</sub> are mainly amorphous, while Fe/WO<sub>3</sub> + ZrO<sub>2</sub> and Fe-Ni/x-ZrO<sub>2</sub> are characterized by graphitic carbon.