CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

The activity and stability of copper supported on cerium oxide have been investigated inthe selective production of hydrogen via methanol steam reforming. The catalytic runswere carried out under two different operating regimes: continuous and discontinuous.The main products were H2 and CO2 and a minor amount of CO (selectivity to CO wasaround 6% at 300 C). In all the cases, the catalyst was initially very active and the activitywas lost with the time on stream. The catalyst under a continuous regime was easily regeneratedby air at 400 C. Under a discontinuous mode, the catalyst was self-activatedafter stop operation and initial conversion was almost recovered. The deactivation couldbe mainly attributed to the adsorption of carbonate species which were easily desorbedunder an inert flow or by burning with air. The pre-reduction of catalyst should be avoidedto reach higher stability.