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6068409 
Journal Article 
Diesel steam reforming: Comparison of two nickel aluminate catalysts prepared by wet-impregnation and co-precipitation 
Achouri, IE; Abatzoglou, N; Fauteux-Lefebvre, C; Braidy, N 
2013 
Yes 
Catalysis Today
ISSN: 0920-5861 
207 
13-20 
WOS:000318915900003 
γ-Al2O3 supported Ni–Al spinel catalysts, prepared by co-precipitation and wet impregnation, were produced, analysed and tested on commercial diesel steam reforming. The study of the preparation method's effect on the catalytic activity, builds on a previously patented Ni–Al spinel (NiAl2O4) catalyst supported on alumina (Al2O3) and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ). This non-noble metal-based NiAl2O4/Al2O3–YSZ catalyst demonstrated high activity for commercial diesel and biodiesel steam reforming. Diesel steam reforming experiments were performed in a fixed-bed reactor setup, with a proprietary diesel–water emulsion mixture at 760°C. The two tested catalytic formulations yielded the same overall conversion while the products obtained were significantly different. Thus, the catalyst produced via the co-precipitation method (Copr) (a) suffered rapid deactivation from carbon deposition; (b) produced 5 times more methane than the catalyst produced via the wet impregnation method (Impr) and (c) showed a decreasing hydrogen production. The Impr catalyst exhibited a higher stability for diesel steam reforming with no signs of carbon formation or activity loss. The difference between Impr and Copr catalyst activities is related to the Ni-aluminates dispersion: located on the surface for the Impr catalyst, whereas located in the bulk of the Copr catalyst. In order to correlate their activities to their physicochemical properties, both new catalytic formulations presented in this work were characterized before and after steam reforming tests, using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) as well as temperature programmed reduction (TPR). 
Co-precipitation; Wet impregnation; Nickel catalyst; Diesel steam reforming