To reduce total manufacturing cost of the residential fuel cell system, the development of a simplified fuel processor is the major obstacle. For this reason, the replacement of a conventional CO removal process using preferential CO oxidation (PROX) by a new CO removal process, i.e., �selective CO methanation (SCM) reaction� should be the promising approach. We developed mesoporous silica-covered Ni/AlVOx catalyst (MS/Ni/AlVOx), which exhibits the excellent catalytic activity and selectivity for the reaction. Through the investigation for the further improvement of the catalyst durability, we found the dramatic effect of Fe-addition on the catalyst. In the case of the non-modified MS/Ni/AlVOx catalyst, at high space velocity (SV) above 4800 h-1, the increase of outlet CO concentration was observed after 500 h from the initiation of the reaction measurement due to accumulation of carbon species on the catalyst surface, while at the low SV below 2400 h-1 the catalyst showed stable performance for more than 4000 h. On the other hand, in the case of a Fe added MS/Ni/AlVOx catalyst at 4800 h-1 of SV, the life of the catalyst became more than 1000 h, i.e., twice as long as the non-added one. The detailed study by STEM-EDS, XRD and TPR measurements revealed that the formation of Ni-Fe alloy was essential for the suppression of the carbon accumulation on the catalyst. The alloy formation may contribute to weakening the adsorption strength of CO on the Ni site. Furthermore, it was found that the activity and durability of the catalyst were able to be improved by the thickness of the Fe added cover layer. In this study, the structure of the catalyst and the mechanism for the improvement of the durability of the catalyst will be discussed in detail.

Effect of Fe addition on the durability of mesoporous silica-covered Ni/AlVO<sub>x</sub> catalyst for selective CO methanation

248th National Meeting (2014)

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Effect of Fe addition on the durability of mesoporous silica-covered Ni/AlVOx catalyst for selective CO methanation

Effect of Fe addition on the durability of mesoporous silica-covered Ni/AlVO_x catalyst for selective CO methanation