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Steam gasification of carbon solids catalyzed by a nickel-potassium mixed oxide: Kinetic and surface characterization studies

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5823632

The main goal of this thesis is to evaluate and understand the catalytic properties of a nickel-potassium mixture for steam gasification of carbon solids. This goal pursued by carrying out kinetic and surface characterization studies, using both graphite and a coal-char as carbon substrates. The kinetic study on graphite gasification shows that the nickel-potassium mixture has distinct catalytic properties for this reaction, when compared with potassium-alone and nickel-alone catalysts. The mixture is active at relatively low temperatures (800 K) compared with the potassium-alone catalyst, and does not deactivate with time, contrary to the case of nickel alone. These properties are attributed to a cooperative effect between nickel and potassium. The performance of the nickel-potassium catalyst in a process of technological interest, such as the steam gasification of coal-chars, was also investigated. The results indicate that the mixture is a better catalyst for steam gasification of low ash chars, than both nickel-alone and potassium-alone catalysts. A temperature programmed desorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study on the adsorption of O/sub 2/, H/sub 2/O, CO and CO/sub 2/ on clean graphite is also presented. It is proposed that all four gases form the same type of oxygen containing surface species, after chemisorption. The most abundant surface species desorbs as CO between 1000 and 1300 K, and has been assigned to a semi-quinone functional group. This CO precursor can react with the adsorbing gas, and form a second species, that desorbs as CO/sub 2/ between 500 and 900 K. A surface lactone has been proposed as the CO/sub 2/ surface precursor.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC03-76SF00098
OSTI ID:
5823632
Report Number(s):
LBL-24268; ON: DE88003857
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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