Synthesis, characterisation and catalytic performance of Cu- and Co-modified Fe-Al co-precipitated catalysts for the steam reforming of ethanol

This paper reports the synthesis and the investigation of the properties and performance of Fe-Al catalysts modified with Cu or Co for the steam reforming of ethanol. The materials were prepared by the precipitation method with different Fe/Al ratios. The samples were characterised by the S_BET, TG/DTG, XRD, H₂-TPR and TPO/DTA analyses. The increase in the Fe/Al ratio leads to a decrease in the specific surface area and shifts the reduction peaks towards higher temperatures. The partial substitution of Fe by Co or Cu modifies the structure of the materials because higher specific surface areas and crystallites of iron oxides with smaller sizes are formed. The promotion also improves the reducibility of the iron species. These changes provide higher activity and selectivity towards H₂ and CO for the modified samples and for the samples with lower Fe/Al ratio. The Co-containing catalyst showed the best performance because this sample exhibited the highest conversions and selectivity towards both H₂ and CO and the lowest formation of coke according to the TPO analysis.