Wall coating of a CuO/ZnO/AI2O3 methanol steam reforming catalyst for micro-channel reformers

Capillaries of quartz and fused silica were coated with a commercial BASF CuO/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst. The objective was to create micro channels with reactive coatings for steam reforming of methanol to produce H-2 for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. A slurry of catalyst with a boehmite binder was filled in the capillary and then displaced by a stream of inert gas. This gas displacement method allowed us to generate coatings ranging from I to 25 mum in thickness by varying the slurry viscosity. The 25 mum coating thickness was deposited on a range of tube diameters, for example 4.1 mm, 2 mm, and 530 mum diameter. The coating was adherent and did not peel off during catalytic reaction tests which lasted up to 10 days. The activity of the coated catalyst was superior to that of the same catalyst in a packed bed. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.