Fabrication and eva‎luation of supported copper oxide nanocatalysts in methanol steam reforming

10/1/2025 12:00:00 AM

Hydrogen is considered a suitable alternative to fossil fuels. Among the hydrogen production processes, steam reforming of methanol has attracted the attention of many researchers. Due to the crucial role of the catalyst in methanol conversion and product selectivity, extensive research is being conducted to improve the performance of catalysts used in steam reforming of methanol. In this project, copper oxide catalysts with different weight percentages (5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15) supported on magnesium aluminate were synthesized using a mechanochemical method, and their structural characteristics and catalytic performance were eva‎luated through various tests. Various promoters, such as cobalt oxide, chromium oxide, and manganese oxide, were used in the preparation of the catalyst with the desired weight percentage of copper oxide (10% wt. CuO/MgAl2O4). After adding the promoters, the catalytic activity significantly improved. For instance, adding 3% by weight of chromium oxide to the 10% copper oxide catalyst increased the methanol conversion from 54.95% to 83.98% at 250 °C. Among the promoters used, chromium oxide showed the best performance, so other percentages of it were also used in the synthesis of the 10% wt. CuO/MgAl2O4. Increasing the chromium oxide percentage further enhanced the catalytic activity. Among the promoted catalysts with chromium, 10 wt.% CuO-7 wt.% Cr2O3/MgAl2O4 showed the best performance, achieving a methanol conversion of 94.95% at 250 °C, with near-zero carbon monoxide selectivity. These chromium-promoted catalysts maintained their stability during a 6-hour operation. This project also focused on the impact of operating parameters, such as the feed molar ratio and reduction temperature. Increasing the water-to-methanol molar ratio from 5 to 9 caused a drop in methanol conversion from 90.71% to 42.55% at 300 °C for the 10 wt.% CuO /MgAl2O4 catalyst. Also, the reduction temperature must be chosen carefully to ensure proper reduction while preventing sintering and loss of copper active sites.

انرژي , هيدروژن , ريفورمينگ بخار متانول , كاتاليست

Energy , Hydrogen , Methanol Steam Reforming , Catalyst

Mahdieh Hadi

Dr. Seyed Mehdi Alavi Amlashi