Partial oxidation of palm fatty acids over Ce‐ZrO 2 : Roles of catalyst surface area, lattice oxygen capacity and mobility

Nanoscale Ce‐ZrO 2 , synthesized by cationic surfactant‐assisted method, has useful partial oxidation activity to convert palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD; containing C 16 –C 18 compounds) to hydrogen‐rich gas with low carbon formation problem under moderate temperatures. At 1123 K with the inlet O/C ratio of 1.0, the main products from the reaction are H 2 , CO, CO 2 , and CH 4 with slight formations of gaseous high hydrocarbons (i.e., C 2 H 4 , C 2 H 6 , and C 3 H 6 ), which could all be eliminated by applying higher O/C ratio (above 1.25) or higher temperature (1173 K). Compared with the microscale Ce‐ZrO 2 synthesized by conventional coprecipitation method, less H 2 production with relatively higher C 2 H 4 , C 2 H 6 , and C 3 H 6 formations are generated from the reaction over microscale Ce‐ZrO 2 . The better reaction performances of nanoscale Ce‐ZrO 2 are linearly correlated with its higher specific surface area as well as higher oxygen storage capacity and lattice oxygen mobility, according to the reduction/oxidation measurement and 18 O/ 16 O isotope exchange study. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2011