A CuO-CeO2 mixed-oxide catalyst for CO clean-up by selective oxidation in hydrogen-rich mixtures

A CuO-CeO2 mixed-oxide catalyst was shown experimentally to be highly active and selective for the oxidation of CO in hydrogen-rich mixtures, and an attractive alternative to the noble metal catalysts presently used for CO clean-up in hydrogen mixtures for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). Although the presence of H2O and CO2 in the feed decreased the activity and increased the reaction temperature considerably to achieve a given CO conversion with a reactor, the selectivity profile with respect to the conversion remained virtually the same. The effect of H2O and CO2 on the reaction was found to increase the required energy for reduction of the active copper species in the redox cycles undergone during the reaction. The catalyst showed a slow, reversible deactivation, but the activity was restored on heating the catalyst at 300 degreesC, even under an inert flow. At space velocities above 42 g h m(-3), the catalyst reduced the CO content to less than 10 ppm in the temperature range 166-176 degreesC for a feed of 1% CO, 1% O-2, 50% H-2, 20% H2O, 13.5% CO2 and balance He. Hence, with this catalyst it is feasible to clean up the CO in a single-stage reactor with relatively small excess oxygen, which is in contrast to the typical multistage reactor systems using noble metal catalysts.