Aluminum-based activation of natural zeolite for glycerol steam reforming

In this work, aluminum-based activated zeolite is employed for the first time in glycerol steam reforming. AlCl3 and Al(OH)3 were used as the activator agents for the natural zeolite. NiMo/Zeolite catalysts were prepared for the glycerol steam reforming process by impregnation and characterized by XRD and XRF. The characterization results showed that the activation by AlCl3 and Al(OH)3 could modify the chemical composition and crystallinity of the zeolite. Silica extraction occurred due to the activation by Al(OH)3, while AlCl3 caused an aluminum removal in the zeolite framework. Amorphization of zeolite structure was involved in zeolite activation by Al(OH)3. Glycerol steam reforming processes employed NiMo/Zeolite-AlCl3 and NiMo/Zeolite-Al(OH)3, which were carried out in a fixed-bed reactor at 250 °C. The glycerol-water mole ratio was varied 9:1, 4:1 and 3:2. NiMo/Zeolite-AlCl3 yielded a higher hydrogen product than NiMo/Zeolite-Al(OH)3 with a lower glycerol feed concentration.