Sustainable hydrogen production by ethanol steam reforming using a partially reduced copper-nickel oxide catalyst

Hydrogen production through the use of renewable raw materials and renewable energy is crucial for advancing its applications as an energy carrier. In this study, we fabricated a solid oxide solution of Cu and Ni within a confined pore space, followed by a partial reduction, to produce a highly efficient catalyst for ethanol steam reforming (ESR). At 300 °C, EtOH is completely converted, a H2 yield of approximately 5 mol per mol is achieved, and CO2 is the main carbon-containing product. This demonstrates that H2 production from bioethanol is an efficient and sustainable approach. Such a highly efficient ESR catalyst is attributed to the ability of the metal-oxide interface to facilitate the transformation of CHx adspecies from acetaldehyde decomposition into methoxy-like adspecies, which are reformed readily to produce H2 and consequently reduce CH4 formation.