Abstract
The characterization of coke deposited on a Ni/La2O3‐αAl2O3 catalyst used in the steam reforming of bio‐oil has been studied by temperature programmed oxidation (TPO) coupled with different in situ techniques: thermogravimetry (TG), modulated thermogravimetry (MTG), FTIR spectroscopy with mass spectrometry (MS), Raman spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The steam reforming of bio‐oil was carried out in a reactor equipment with two steps in series, comprising bio‐oil thermal treatment (500 °C) and subsequent reforming in a fluidized bed reactor (550–700 °C; and steam‐to‐carbon ratio, 1.5–6). TG/MS‐TPO experiments identify encapsulating and filamentous coke, and a more detailed analysis using other in situ techniques enable to characterize the nature and location of 4 types of coke: (i) an encapsulating coke with aliphatic nature placed in the most superficial layers; (ii) an encapsulating coke with higher aromatic nature in inner layers; (iii) the most superficial layers of a filamentous coke, further from active sites and with a more carbonized structure compared to encapsulating coke; and (iv) an innermost and mainly polyaromatic filamentous coke with a low oxygenates content.
Share a Coke with Aitor: Insights were obtained into the coke deposited on Ni catalyst used for bio‐oil steam reforming, by means of combustion (TPO) coupled with in situ techniques. This enhanced coke characterization revealed morphological differences (encapsulating and filamentous), strong correlation between location (on Ni or support) and nature of coke species, and correlation between oxygen content and both location and observed HHV.