Abstract
Au/MnOx catalyst prepared by co-precipitation method was studied for partial oxidation of methanol (POM) to produce hydrogen. Catalyst characterizations included are TGA, BET, XRD, TEM and XPS analyses. It was observed that the Au/MnOx catalyst is active for POM to produce hydrogen. The optimum gold content to produce selective hydrogen is 1.9 at.% of Au. The uncalcined catalyst shows the highest activity, which could be correlated to the presence of smaller Au particles with partially oxidized Au species. In the reaction temperature range of 200 to 300 degrees C, both hydrogen selectivity and methanol conversion increase with rising the temperature. The CO formation was initiated at 250 degrees C by methanol decomposition, at which complete consumption of O-2 was observed. The multipart trend in methanol conversion, H-2 selectivity and CO selectivity at different reaction temperatures also confirm the possible involvement of steam reforming (SRM), water gas shift (WGS) and reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reactions under partial oxidation conditions.