The kinetics of acetic acid steam reforming on Ni/Ca-Al2O3 catalyst

As a significant by-product of many thermochemical and biological waste conversion processes, acetic acid (AcOH) is often investigated as model feedstock in the production of sustainable hydrogen from non-fossil sources. The kinetics of its steam reforming were extracted from packed bed reactor experiments over an industrially produced 14 wt% Ca-Al2O3 catalyst at atmospheric pressure. The model consisting of AcOH steam reforming producing CO2 and H-2, AcOH decomposition to CO and H-2, and water gas shift, achieved the best fit, reflected in the lowest average relative errors (ARE) with experimental results, with ARE values below 5.4% and 6.4% on AcOH and water conversions respectively, and below 4% on H-2 mol fraction. This model was validated away from equilibrium using additional experimental points, as well as for a wide range of equilibrium conditions with varying temperature (600-700 degrees C) and feed molar steam to carbon ratios (3-8) at atmospheric pressure using an independent method. (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC.