Application of nickel–lanthanum composite oxide on the steam reforming of ethanol to produce hydrogen

Nickel–lanthanum composite oxides, LaNiOx, were used for steam reforming of ethanol (SRE). The composite oxides (with 3:1, 1:1, 1:3 M ratios, assigned as 3La–1Ni, 1La–1Ni, and 1La–3Ni, respectively) were prepared by co-precipitation-oxidation (PO) and assisted with ultrasonic irradiation (240 W). Meanwhile, the as-prepared 1La–1Ni sample was further calcined at 300 and 700 °C for 2 h (assigned as C300 and C700). All samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and temperature programmed reduction (TPR). Catalytic activities towards the SRE reaction were tested from 300 to 450 °C in a fixed-bed reactor. The study focused on deriving optimized composition of composites and compared the effect on the reduction pretreatment under 200 °C [assigned with (H)]. The results indicated that the ethanol conversion reached completion around 325 °C for the 1La–1Ni(H) sample while it required 400 °C for the 1La–1Ni sample with a minor CO distribution for both samples under an H2O/EtOH molar ratio of 13 and 22,000 h−1 GHSV. The yield of hydrogen (YH2) approached 5.2 around 375 °C for the 1La–1Ni(H) sample.