Synthesis gas production from glycerol steam reforming over alumina supported bimetallic Co-Ni catalyst

Abstract

Glycerol, a carbohydrate substrate, is produced in large quantities by the burgeoning biodiesel industry. The opportunity to produce synthesis gas (H2/CO mixture) from this bioprocessing residue by steam reforming is a potential advantage in the future integration of biorefineries with current petrochemical plants since syngas maybe converted to clean fuels via the Fischer-Tropsch process. In this work, alumina supported catalysts comprising of bimetallic Co-Ni, alkaline earth oxide (MgO, CaO, SrO, BaO) doped Co-Ni and lanthanide oxide (CeO2, Pr2O3, Sm2O3) doped Co-Ni, were synthesized by wetness co-impregnation technique and assessed in a fixed-bed reactor over steam-to-glycerol ratio of 3.0