Freeze cast porous membrane catalyst for hydrogen production via oxy-reforming

In this work, porous catalytic membrane with tailored microstructure has been developed for the production of hydrogen from the oxy-reforming process. Porous catalytic membranes have been produced by freeze-casting of ceria-based powders using camphene as solvent. The process parameters have been optimized in terms of type and amount of dispersant to obtain homogeneous and stable ceramic suspension suitable for the process, while the freezing temperature was chosen on the basis of the microstructure and porosity of the final samples. The obtained freeze cast sample produced showed very high levels of porosity (≈ 80%) and good gas permeability (1.0 × 10−11 m2). The ceria-based porous structure produced was finally evaluated as catalyst in high temperature oxy-reforming reaction for hydrogen production from methane showing high methane conversions (up to 90%) and hydrogen production. The use of a unique catalytic membrane other than pelleted catalysts allowed the obtaining of smooth thermal profiles without the evidence of endothermic or exothermic peaks.