Coordinators
Reinaldo Giudici
Rita Maria de Brito Alves
Martin Schmal
A The Water-Gas Shift (WGS) reaction is one of the most important routes for hydrogen production and control of the H2/CO ratios in methane reforming reactions. It has received great importance due to the use of H2 in the major chemical industries (fertilizers, petroleum refining, etc.) and in fuel cells. The use of carbonaceous materials, such as carbon nanotubes, as catalyst support has proven advantageous due to their high surface area and the low availability of some oxides for this purpose. In this context, this research project aims to synthesize and evaluate new cobalt (Co) and copper (Cu) catalysts supported on carbon nanotubes and propose a microkinetic model that best describes the WGS reaction. Progress in the development of models with a microkinetic approach allows the understanding of the fundamental phenomena occurring on the catalyst surface in terms of the elementary steps of the reaction, leading to a more accurate reaction rate.