Chemical Engineering & Technology, Vol.36, No.2, 307-314, 2013
Optimization of Catalyst Loading for Porous Copper Fiber Sintered Felts Used in Methanol Steam Reforming Microreactors
A novel porous copper fiber sintered felt (PCFSF) has been used as catalyst support to construct a methanol steam reforming microreactor for hydrogen production. The Cu/Zn/Al/Zr catalyst was loaded on the PCFSF by means of a two-layer impregnation method. The ultrasonic water bath vibration method was employed to investigate the effect of porosity, catalyst loading, and sintering temperature on the loading performance of PCFSFs. The effective catalyst loading, being limited by porosity and pore size, was > 92% in the lower porosity range of 70-80 %, but significantly reduced in higher porosity ranges >80 %.
Keywords:Methanol conversion;Methanol steam reforming microreactor;Loading performance;Porous copper fiber sintered felt;Ultrasonic water bath vibration