Modified oxalic acid co-precipitation method for preparing Cu/ZnO/Al2O3/Cr2O3/CeO2 catalysts for the OR (oxidative reforming) of M (methanol) to produce H2 (hydrogen) gas

OR (oxidative reforming) of M (methanol) was performed using Cu/ZnO/Al2O3-based catalysts, prepared using an oxalic co-precipitation method. We optimized the active catalyst formulation for low reaction temperatures and investigated the effects of varying the steam–methanol mole ratio, the oxygen–methanol mole ratio, WHSV (weight hourly space velocity), precursor mix formulation, reaction temperature, and precipitation temperature, pH, and DTs (drying times) of oxalic acid co-precipitated precursors. The Cu/ZnO/Al2O3/Cr2O3/CeO2 (15/15/2.5/1.25/1.25) catalyst provided greater than 80% conversion to methanol at 200 °C under CO (carbon monoxide) at 900 ppm, and provided a 100-h lifetime.