Abstract
The increasing world power demand is driving scientific interest toward the research of alternative energy sources. As energy production from fossil fuels is limited by both reduced availability and pollutants emissions, H2 from renewable feed-stocks (i.e. bioethanol) appears a good clean chance, especially for fuel cells.
In this paper, the performances of ceria and ceria-zirconia supported bimetallic powder and foam catalysts in the low temperature range (300-600 °C) Ethanol Steam Reforming reaction were investigated with the aim to highlight the improved heat transfer properties of the structured samples. Two different reactor configurations were employed: catalytic powders were tested in both an annular and a tubular reactor and the hollow one was also used for foam catalysts. SiC foam catalysts, by exploiting the high thermal conductivity of the support, could reduce heat transfer resistance, thus assuring very interesting results in terms of both activity and stability. Moreover, the role of catalytic support was studied and CeO2-ZrO2 based catalysts were found more suitable for the desired reaction.
