Dimethyl ether (DME) reforming by microreactor using Cu and Cr as active components over γ alumina Original Research Article

A series of plate type anodic alumina (γ-Al2O3) supported Cu and Cr catalysts were employed to investigate their reactivity in the partial oxidation (PO) of dimethyl ether (DME) in a microreactor. The effect of metal concentration and reaction temperature on DME conversion to hydrogen was assessed. It was found that conversion of DME to hydrogen by PO depends both on reaction temperature and active metal concentration. The catalysts were characterized by surface area (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. The metal loading as active component was investigated by electron probe micro analysis (EPMA) and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). The results showed that Cu as active component on γ-Al2O3 possessed better activity than Cr. Further, the catalytic activity of Cu was enhanced in the presence of Cr. The XRD and XPS analysis indicated that enhanced Cu activity in the presence of Cr could be correlated to the partial existence of CuCr2O4 along with CuO.