La2O3-SiO2 supported rhodium, a stable catalyst for hydrogen production

JOHN MÚNERA, SILVIA IRUSTA, CARLOS CARRARA, EDUARDO A. LOMBARDO AND LAURA CORNAGLIA

Philadelphia Pennsylvania, USA

Otro; 19TH NORTH AMERICAN CATALYSIS SOCIETY MEETING; 2005

Different types of membrane reactors have been used to produce pure H2 from the dry reforming of methane. In previous studies [1,2], we reported that CH4 conversion can be greatly improved by removing the hydrogen formed with a stable and highly selective Pd-Ag dense membrane. The rhodium catalysts supported on lanthanum were active and stable for the dry reforming reaction despite the low dispersion of the metal. In this work, we report the results obtained with a novel catalyst, Rh/La2O3-SiO2, and with Rh/La2O3. Both the fresh and used catalysts were characterized by DRX, TPR, Laser Raman spectroscopy and CO and hydrogen chemisorption. FTIR spectroscopy with CO as a probe molecule was used to study the promoter oxide role. The effect of the operation variables upon the performance of the membrane reactor was also studied.