Electrical conduction phenomena in coked industrial reforming catalysts

Industrial Pt/Al2O3 reforming catalysts containing up to 26 wt% of carbon have been studied by admittance spectroscopy. Spectra obtained on heating in nitrogen in the range 200–500 °C displayed low frequency relaxations, which were interpreted in terms of a network of carbon islands linked by surface ionic conduction. During subsequent cooling, these features disappeared, suggesting that they were generated by dissociation of strongly bound water. Isothermal ac measurements in nitrogen showed that the conductance was determined by the carbon content. Similar measurements made in dilute oxygen showed that the conductance decreased with burn-off of carbon. Analysis of gases evolved on heating revealed aqueous and chloride species, originating from acid sites on the catalyst support. The results suggest that electrical techniques could be used to characterize coked reforming catalysts.