Review on developments of catalytic system for methanol steam reforming from the perspective of energy-mass conversion

Methanol is regarded to be a promising hydrogen carrier owing to the virtues of high hydrogen content and liquid-state at room temperature. Methanol can be converted into hydrogen-rich gas through methanol steam reforming (MSR) process at mild reaction conditions, making it a high-quality onsite hydrogen source. The key problem of MSR technology for hydrogen production is to develop suitable and highly efficient catalytic system. Different from previously published reviews on MSR reaction, the main idea of this article is to shed light on the setting up process of MSR catalytic system from the perspective of energy-mass conversion. In this work, the researches on improving the durability, carbon deposition resistance and sintering resistance of MSR catalyst by material modification, additives utilization, and structure optimization are reviewed. Studies on revealing MSR reaction path under different catalytic conditions are discussed. Researches on heat/mass transport and distribution behaviors in MSR reactor under different catalyst structures are also displayed. This review detailedly summarizes the methodologies to optimize the catalytic system for reducing energy barrier of MSR, improving methanol conversion efficiency and rate, which can lay the foundation for engineering application of MSR technology.