Investigation on the platinum-loaded NaY zeolite catalysts for liquid phase reforming of carbohydrates to hydrogen

Processes suggested for production of hydrogen from biomass are often involved in high temperature pyrolysis, catalytic steam reforming, or enzymatic biosynthesis. Platinum aggregates encaged in Y-type zeolite were prepared by ion-exchange of the NaY zeolite in tetra-amine platinum nitrate solution followed by calcinatin and reduction. The catalytic performance of the Pt/NaY catalysts was evaluated and compared with the state-of-the-art Pt/Na?-Al₂O₃ catalysts. The Pt/NaY catalyst with a Pt loading of 0.5 wt % exhibited catalytic performance comparable to or better than the Pt/γ-Al₂O₃ with a Pt loading of 2.9 wt % in liquid phase reforming of methanol solutions at 493-538 K. The as-synthesized PtY catalysts showed good activity for hydrogen production by aqueous reforming from some biomass derived oxygenate compounds. The activities of the catalysts decreased as the platinum loadings on the support decreased. The results of conversion over 0.5 wt % PtY catalyst showed that the conversion of methanol decreased with the temperature. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the AIChE Annual Meeting (San Francisco, CA 11/12-17/2006).