Cu-Al spinel oxide as an efficient catalyst for methanol steam reforming

Cu-Al spinel oxide, which contains a small portion of the CuO phase, has been successfully used in methanol steam reforming (MSR) without prereduction. The omission of prereduction not only avoids the copper sintering prior to the catalytic reaction, but also slows down the copper-sintering rate in MSR. During this process, the CuO phase can initiate MSR at a lower temperature, and CuAl2O4 releases active copper gradually. The catalyst CA2.5-900, calcined at 900 °C with n(Al)/n(Cu) = 2.5, has a higher CuAl2O4 content, higher BET surface area, and smaller CuAl2O4 crystal size. Its activity first increases and then decreases during MSR. Furthermore, both fresh and regenerated CA2.5-900 showed better catalytic performance than the commercial Cu-Zn-Al catalyst.