The reactivity of spinel ferrites in the two-step methanol reforming

During recent years, many processes for the production of hydrogen from renewable sources have been proposed, comprising thermal, catalytic, electrolytic and photolytic processes. Catalytic steam-reforming is also an option that can be used for the transformation of bioalcohols into hydrogen. Because of the fascinating challenge of obtaining an inherent separation of hydrogen from the C-containing products, during last years various alternative approaches to conventional SR + WGS have been proposed. In the so-called chemical-loop approach, the SR reaction is decoupled into two spatially and temporarily separated steps: during the first step a reductant (usually methane) is first contacted with a metal oxide, which oxidizes the former into carbon oxides and water. The reduced metal oxide is then reoxidized with water, to produce hydrogen and restore the original oxidation state and the O2- content of the metal oxide. In the present work, we report about a study on the feasibility of a two-step cycle approach for the catalytic production of hydrogen from methanol and water, using the spinel-type oxide CoFe2O4 as the electrons carrier.