Hydrogen production via supercritical water gasification of bagasse using unpromoted and zinc promoted Ru/γ-Al2O3 nanocatalysts

Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of bagasse was performed in the presence of unpromoted and zinc promoted Ru/γ-Al2O3 nanocatalysts prepared with impregnation and microemulsion techniques. Nanocatalysts were characterized by ICP, BET, XRD, H2 chemisorption, and TEM techniques. The microemulsion technique decreased the catalyst average particle size to 3.9 nm and increased the percentage dispersion and reduction to 89.6% and 90% respectively. Using the microemulsion technique for preparation of Ru/γ-Al2O3 increased the hydrogen yield to 15.6 (mmol of H2/g of bagasse) and CO yield to 7.5 (mmol of CO/g of bagasse). Promotion of Ru/γ-Al2O3 with 1.5 wt.% zinc increased the total gas yield by 6.6%. The yields of hydrogen and carbon monoxide increased by 16.67% and 7.25%. The yield of methane decreased by 32.7%.