A. Iriondo

Recent Improvement on H 2 Production by Liquid Phase Reforming of Glycerol: Catalytic Properties and Performance, and Deactivation Studies

Recently new Pt/Ni-based γ-Al2O3 catalysts have been developed in our laboratory with a good performance for H2 production by aqueous phase reforming of glycerol. This paper reviews these developments based on the study of the catalytic properties and performance, as well as their deactivation mechanisms. These works have led to set new perspectives related to the enhancement of catalysts hydrothermal stability and to the reduction of the deactivation processes.

Glycerol conversion into H2 by steam reforming over Ni and PtNi catalysts supported on MgO modified γ-Al2O3

Abstract The glycerol catalytic steam reforming over Ni and PtNi catalysts to produce H 2 was studied. The activity results indicate that the catalyst with the lower content of MgO, the NiA1M, provides higher H 2 molar ratios than the Ni catalyst. The behaviour of the NiA1M catalysts seems to be related to the Ni o species stabilization by nickel-magnesia interactions, which are favoured by the presence of well dispersed MgAl 2 O 4 spinels. The bimetallic catalyst, PtNiA3M named, reforms the intermediate products improving the activity of the Ni monometallic catalyst toward H 2 production. The characterization results suggest that the Pt in the Ni monometallic catalyst enhances the Ni o particles dispersion and the nickel species reducibility by H 2 spillover.

Production of Furanic Biofuels with Zeolite and Metal Oxide Bifunctional Catalysts for Energy-and Product-Driven Biorefineries

In the last years, research on the transformation of biomass into different compounds has grown significantly with the motivation being to reduce the dependency of oil and to develop of sustainable and environmental friendly energy sources. In this context biomass appears to be as the only renewable source of carbon that is able to provide a substitute for fossil fuels. In the near future, bio-refineries, in which biomass is catalytically converted into pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, plastics and transportation fuels will take the place of current petrochemical plants. Among the transportation fuels, furanic biofuels as 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) and 2-methylfuran (2-MF) have good performance as a fuel for direct injection spark ignition type engines without important modifications of the engine. The transformation of biomass into furanic biofuel compounds takes place via 5 hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in the case of the DMF and 2-MF; in the case of the 2-MF it can be also produced from furfural (FF) via furfuryl alcohol (FOL). In these reactions it is necessary to employ of bifunctional catalysts for the hydrogenolysis. Metals are required to fix the hydrogen reaction and sometimes for the C–O and C–C bonds cleavage and the acid-base supports of the dehydration, for the C–C and C–O bonds scissions. This chapter provides an overview of current methods for converting biomass to furanic biofuels with zeolite and metal oxide bifunctional catalysts. The chapter provides state-of-the-art overview on furanic biofuel production from biomass with a brief description of the DMF production process and the 2-MF production process. Use of different bifunctional catalysts for the DMF production process and the 2-MF production process is described. The influence of the support and that of different metals will be discussed along with properties of the bifunctional catalysts like metal dispersion, catalysts acidity and operating conditions. Finally, the use of different solvents to improve the yield of biofuels will be analyzed.