Catalytic dehydrogenation of perhydro-monobenzyltoluene over Pt/Al2O3 for continuous hydrogen release

Monobenzyltoluene (H0-BT) is a promising liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC), and continuous reaction process represents a more favorable approach in the large-scale hydrogen storage. In this work, the impacts of Pt loading and reaction conditions on the dehydrogenation performance of perhydro-monobenzyltoluene (H12-BT) over Pt/Al 2 O 3 were conducted in a fixed-bed reactor. The results indicate that the dehydrogenation activity of catalyst shows a volcano type as increasing Pt loading, reaching a maximum at 3 wt%. 1 wt% Pt loading is the most appropriate in consideration of the dehydrogenation activity and hydrogen purity. High reaction temperature and low pressure can facilitate dehydrogenation kinetics but result in the undesired byproducts, therefore, the optimal reaction conditions are 320 °C and 0.7 MPa. Additionally, the dehydrogenation performance of H12-BT and perhydro-dibenzyltoluene (H18-DBT) were compared under the similar conditions, revealing that H12-BT may be a superior hydrogen storage carrier.