abstracts - Институт катализа им. Г.К. Борескова

PL-3NOBLE METALS CONTAINING CATALYSTS FOR HYDROGEN PRODUCTIONDamyanova S., Petrov L.Institute of Catalysis, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, BulgariaE-mail: petrov@ic.bas.bgThe conversion of hydrocarbons to hydrogen and syngas will play an important role inthe 21 st century ranging from large gas to liquid plants and hydrogen plants for refineries tosmall units providing hydrogen for fuel cells. The forecasts show that hydrogen will become amajor source of energy in the future. Hydrogen is “the fuel of the future”. It is anenvironmentally attractive and clean fuel, potentially non-polluting, inexhaustible, efficientand cost attractive fuel for different energy demands. Hydrogen can be produced from anumber of sources, including biomass [1], coal [2], solar energy [3], etc. The combustion ofhydrogen in air does not produce CO 2 as co-product, however when the hydrogen is producedfrom fossil fuels it is an indirect source of CO 2 . Therefore, the use of the H 2 as a fuel stronglydepends on the method by which it is produced. The efforts are dedicated to develop ofenvironmental benign and economically competitive H 2 production technologies and systemsto meet the energy needs.The natural gas accounts almost 50% of the world’s feedstock for H 2 production. CH 4 ,which is the main component of natural gas, is widely used – cheap, widespread andaccessible. The main processes used for hydrogen production from methane are: steamreforming, dry reforming, partial oxidation and autothermal reforming of methane. The steamreforming of natural gas provides the cheapest source of industrial hydrogen.Among the various fuels, which can be converted to hydrogen to be used in fuel cells formobile and stationary applications, alcohols are highly promising candidates, because they areeasily decomposed in the presence of water and generate H 2 -rich mixtures. Ethanol, whichcould be produced in large quantities from biomass, was used in not very successfully in somecountries as a renewable motor fuel; however it is considered as one of the most promisingsources of hydrogen [4].The catalysts are playing the most critical role in the ultimate development of reformingprocesses for hydrogen production. One of the main problems of reforming catalysts is theirfast deactivation due to the formation of coke. There are continually improvements of thequalities of reforming catalysts. The parameters responsible for enhancement of the catalyticperformances include the catalyst composition, type of the catalyst support, and process12