CuFeO₂–CeO₂ nanopowder catalyst prepared by self-combustion glycine nitrate process and applied for hydrogen production from methanol steam reforming

Hydrogen (H₂) is being considered as an alternate renewable energy carrier due to the energy crisis, climate change and global warming. In the chemical industry, hydrogen production is mainly accomplished by the steam reforming of natural gas. In the present study, CuFeO₂–CeO₂ nanopowder catalyst with a heterogeneous delafossite structure was prepared by the self-combustion glycine nitrate process and used for steam reforming of methanol (SRM). The precursor solution was fabricated from Cu–Fe–Ce metal-nitrate mixed with glycine and an aqueous solution. The prepared CuFeO₂–CeO₂ nanopowder catalyst was studied by different physical and chemical characterization techniques. The prepared CuFeO₂–CeO₂ nanopowder catalyst was immensely porous with a coral-like structure. The BET surface area measurement revealed that the specific surface area of as-combusted CuFeO₂–CeO₂ nanopowder varied from 5.6248 m²/g to 19.5441 m²/g. In addition, the production rate of CuFeO₂–CeO₂ was improved by adding CeO₂ and adjusting the feeding rate of the methanol. The highest H₂ generation rate of the CuFeO₂–CeO₂ catalyst was 2582.25 (mL STP min⁻¹ g-cat⁻¹) at a flow rate of 30 sccm at 400 °C. Hence, the high specific surface area of the 70CuFeO₂–30CeO₂ nanopowder catalyst and the steam reforming process could have a very important industrial and economic impact.