Dispersion behavior of various single metals on carbonaceous coal supports and their reactivity in methanol steam reforming

Coal as catalytic support is advantageous in many respects. The pore structure and surface composition are controllable, and the high thermal conductivity can increase the thermal efficiency of the reactor. It is stable in acidic or basic media and it is easy to recycle the catalyst after use. In this study, six different coals were evaluated as catalytic supports based on their ability to disperse of the metal and their catalytic performance. Nickel particles with an average diameter of <11nm are typically dispersed on low-rank coals (LRCs). The nickel catalysts supported on LRCs show 60–70% hydrogen yield for methanol steam reforming (MSR), and one of them maintained the activity during 1000h continuous run, confirming the stability as catalyst support. Most of the well-known catalytic metals such as Pt, Pd, Rh, Ru, Mn, Co, Fe, Zn, Bi, Mo, K, Cu, Ce, Mg, Ga, and La, are dispersed on LRC (Eco coal) support uniformly with an average size of <10nm. Much improved dispersion of the metals on LRC confirms the chance of having improved catalytic activity compared to the conventional carbon supports.