Intensified steam reforming of a simulated bio-oil for renewable hydrogen production over CeO2-promoted Ni/CaO bifunctional material: Experimental kinetics and reactor modeling

Sorption-enhanced steam reforming (SESR) of bio-oil represents a promising route for renewable hydrogen production and supports the transition toward sustainable energy systems. This intensified process applied to a simulated bio-oil was investigated over two bifunctional materials (BFM), namely UpGraded Slug Oxides (UGSO)-stabilized Ni/CaO (Ni-CaO-UGSO) and CeO 2 -promoted Ni-CaO-UGSO (xCeNi-CaO-UGSO, where x = 5, 10, and 15 wt%), focusing on the impact of key operating parameters (temperature and weight hourly space velocity (WHSV)) and CeO 2 incorporation. 10CeNi-CaO-UGSO offered the best performance at 600 °C, WHSV of 1.408 h −1 , and steam-to-carbon (S/C) ratio of 3 in terms of H 2 purity (94 %), yield (85 %), and cyclic stability (91 % in the 5th cycle during 33 min of pre-breakthrough period). The results reveal the beneficial role of CeO 2 in enhancing the sorption capacity due to its oxygen vacancies and enhanced textural properties and mitigating catalyst deactivation by coke deposition. For the first time, the kinetics of CO 2 sorption and steam reforming of bio-oil over BFMs were assessed based on experimental data, along with the development of a comprehensive mathematical reactor model to evaluate the performance of the SESR process, an essential tool for designing industrial technologies. The results revealed a good agreement between experimental and predicted data for this complex intensified process.