Studies on the Catalytic Activity of Alkali Polyaluminate as a Catalyst and Support of Nickel Catalyst for Steam Reforming of Hydrocarbons

Steam reforming of hydrocarbons is generally used for production of town gas and synthetic gas. Continuous steam reforming under high pressure seems most economical, but its disadvantage is the deposition of carbon that made operation under the most economical steam/oil ratio difficult. But this difficulty has been removed by the development of alkalized nickel catalyst by ICI Co., Ltd. S. P. S. Andrew1) has reported that this catalyst consists of a refractory support and mobil alkali which accelerates the reaction between steam and the deposited carbon. It is further found that kalsilite (K.Al.SiO4) is the most desirable alkali source for the alkalized nickel catalyst.