• Clean Technology
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.287-292
• /
• 2007

[ $M/Al_2O_3$ ] (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) catalysts supported on commercial alumina ($Al_2O_3$) were prepared by an impregnation method, and were applied to the hydrogen production by auto-thermal reforming of ethanol. It was revealed that each catalyst retained its own metallic phase and product distribution strongly depended on the identity of active metal. Among the catalysts prepared, $Ni/Al_2O_3$ and $Co/Al_2O_3$ showed the best catalytic performance in the auto-thermal reforming of ethanol. However, the reaction mechanisms over these two catalysts were different. Ni/Al_2O_3 catalyst showed 100% ethanol conversion at $500^{\circ}C$, but it exhibited a rapid decrease in hydrogen selectivity. Although $Co/Al_2O_3$ catalyst showed an excellent performance in hydrogen selectivity, on the other hand, no significant improvement in hydrogen yield was observed due to the low ethanol conversion over the catalyst.