Nickel doped enhanced LaFeO3 catalytic cracking of tar for hydrogen production

The transformation of biomass into green energy was pivotal for sustainable development, yet the efficient conversion of biomass-derived tar into hydrogen-rich syngas remained a significant challenge. This study addressed the catalytic demand for hydrogen production from tar, focusing on the development of LaNi_xFe_1-xO₃ perovskites as catalysts. A series of LaNi_xFe_1-xO₃ perovskites with varying nickel doping levels (x=0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1) were synthesized to evaluate their catalytic performance in converting toluene, a representative tar component, into hydrogen. The LaNi_0.5Fe_0.5O₃ catalyst demonstrated the highest hydrogen yield (14.5 L/6 h) and volume percentage (82.9 V/V%), highlighting the optimal nickel doping level for enhancing hydrogen production. The hydrogen production performance of LaNi_xFe_1-xO₃ was significantly affected by nickel doping. In particular, a small amount of nickel doping can significantly enhance the hydrogen production capacity of LaFeO₃ and maintain good reaction stability. The enhanced performance was attributed to the high oxygen storage capacity of perovskite, which facilitated the removal of surface carbon and promotes the methanation reaction. Notably, the total content of defect oxygen and surface adsorbed oxygen/hydroxyl groups significantly impacted the hydrogen production efficiency. These findings indicated that LaNi_0.5Fe_0.5O₃ was an effective catalyst for converting biomass-derived tar into hydrogen-rich syngas, offering a promising solution to the catalytic demand in the hydrogen production system.