Development of activated biochar supported Ni catalyst for enhancing toluene steam reforming

Catalytic steam reforming of tar is considered to be an attractive pathway for tar removal and H₂ production in the modern world. In this study, activation of biochar (B) from pine wood pyrolysis was performed to boost its specific surface area and pore structure. The activated biochar (AB) was used as a catalyst support with the aim to enhance the catalytic activity. The catalytic reforming performance of toluene over Ni/AB catalyst was investigated, and the catalytic behavior of Ni/AB catalysts was compared with Ni/Al₂O₃ and Ni/B. The effect of potassium hydroxide (KOH) to biochar ratio, Ni loading, reforming temperature, weight hourly space velocity and steam to carbon ratio(S/C) on the performance of Ni/AB catalysts were studied. The results showed that Ni/AB catalysts exhibited a superior catalytic activity for carbon conversion and H₂ production to Ni/B and Ni/Al₂O₃ catalysts. In addition, high carbon conversion (86.2%) and H₂ production (64.3%) can be achieved with Ni/AB catalyst under the optimal operating conditions. Furthermore, in order to improve the stability of the Ni/AB catalyst, Ce was introduced to Ni/AB catalyst. According to stability tests, the H₂ concentration of Ni-Ce/AB catalysts was still higher than 2.24 mmol/min even after 20 hours reaction.