Generating hydrogen-rich fuel-cell feeds from dimethyl ether (DME) using physical mixtures of a commercial Cu/Zn/Al2O3 catalyst and several solid-acid catalysts

摘要

Homogeneous physical mixtures containing a commercial Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst and a solid-acid catalyst were used to examine the acidity effects on dimethyl ether hydrolysis and their subsequent effects on dimethyl ether steam reforming (DME-SR). The acid catalysts used were zeolites Y [Si/Al = 2.5 and 15: denoted Y(Si/Al)], ZSM-5 [Si/Al = 15, 25, 40, and 140: denoted Z(Si/Al)] and other conventional catalyst supports (ZrO2, and gamma-Al2O3). The homogeneous physical mixtures contained equal amounts, by volume, of the solid-acid catalyst and the commercial Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst (BASF K3-110, denoted as K3). The steam reforming of dimethyl ether was carried out in an isothermal packed-bed reactor at ambient pressure.