Aqueous Phase Reforming of Model HTL Wastewater with Pt/C and Ru/C Catalysts

Aqueous Phase Reforming (APR) was conducted at a temperature of 225 °C, a pressure of 450 psi, and with two catalysts: 5 wt.% platinum and 5 wt.% ruthenium supported on active carbon. Single- and multiple-component surrogate feedstocks were tested, indicating that the ruthenium catalyst was the superior catalyst as it consistently outperformed the platinum catalyst with hydrogen yields of 77-100%, compared to the 44-54% yield range of platinum. The wastewater resulting from the Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) of Municipal Sewage Sludge (MSS) as a feedstock was tested at 225 and 250 °C, and at 450 and 650 psi. Results demonstrated that while hydrogen can be produced from MSS-HTL wastewater using a ruthenium catalyst supported on carbon, catalyst deactivation was severe. Future work is suggested to investigate methods for preventing the deposition of sub-micron particles on the catalyst.