Different immobilized packings for gas/solid photoreactions: Improving photo-assisted methanol reforming

Hydrogen is a promising energy carrier for the future. In this research, photo-assisted methanol reforming is used as an alternative to the energy-intensive catalytic steam–reforming to produce hydrogen. (1wt.%) Au/TiO2 was used as a photocatalyst and immobilized on beads or plates as support. This was used as packing in a reactor and optimized for hydrogen production based on a combination of light transmission and photocatalytic experiments. It was shown that the best single plate and beads can produce 54.7 mmol·g−1·h−1 and 12.0 mmol·g−1·h−1 of hydrogen respectively at the same light intensity. When comparing our work with the literature (in which beads were also used as catalyst support), the hydrogen production was at least 3.4 times higher, and the system was 633 more energy efficient based on the electrical consumption of the lamp. This flow setup can utilize a stream of liquid MeOH/H2O to produce a continuous supply of hydrogen, which is a promising way to power the future.