Low-temperature steam reforming of phenol for hydrogen production over Co/Al2O3–ash catalysts

A low-cost, high-performance catalyst for phenol steam reforming (PSR) at low temperature was prepared by introducing waste coal ash into Co/Al 2 O 3 . The optimized content of coal ash in the catalyst were ranged from 50 to 65 wt%, presenting over 97% phenol conversion and 92% H 2 yield at low temperature of 450 °C. The stability for the best catalyst with an ash content of 50 wt% exceeded 85 h. Two-step reduction of Co 3 O 4 to Co 0 via CoO was identified by in-situ XRD. DFT calculations showed that phenol adsorption and decomposition were preferred on the FeCo bimetal surface rather than the single Co surface. H 2 O adsorption and dissociation fascinated on the CaO incorporated Al 2 O 3 surface. Both Fe and Ca in the coal ash improved the catalyst performance in PSR at low temperature. This work gives an opportunity to solve the drawbacks of high reaction-temperature and low catalyst-stability in PSR, and furthermore benefits to get a deep insight into the reaction mechanism of PSR over the catalyst.