A Promising Cobalt Catalyst for Hydrogen Production

In this work, a metal cobalt catalyst was synthesized, and its activity in the hydrogen production process was tested. The substrates were water and ethanol. Activity tests were conducted at a temperature range of 350–600 °C, water to ethanol molar ratio of 3 to 5, and a feed flow of 0.4 to 1.2 mol/h. The catalyst had a specific surface area of 1.75 m2/g. The catalyst was most active at temperatures in the range of 500–600 °C. Under the most favorable conditions, the ethanol conversion was 97%, the hydrogen production efficiency was 4.9 mol (H2)/mol(ethanol), and coke production was very low (16 mg/h). Apart from hydrogen and coke, CO2, CH4, CO, and traces of C2H2 and C2H4 were formed.