(460e) Activity of Molybdenum Carbide Catalysts for Gasoline Steam Reforming | AIChE

(460e) Activity of Molybdenum Carbide Catalysts for Gasoline Steam Reforming



The catalytic activity of molybdenum carbide (Mo2C) for gasoline steam reforming to produce hydrogen has been investigated in the present work. Mo2C was found to be very active for gasoline steam reforming at 840°C, using steam to carbon molar ratios as low as 0.8. Bulk Mo2C exhibits good performance at small space velocities (WHSV's below 1 h-1) obtaining hydrogen yields above 90% and conversions of about 80%; however, at larger space velocities bulk Mo2C becomes prone to deactivation due to coke formation, caused by the gasoline thermal decomposition in the gas phase. Low sulfur content (3.8 ppm) appears to have negligible effect on the catalyst performance; however, larger contents require the use of sulfur traps to prevent the catalyst from sulfur poisoning. Additionally, to increase the performance of the catalyst at large space velocities different support materials were employed and their effects on the catalytic activity were studied.