CHEMICAL-PROCESSING IN HIGH-PRESSURE AQUEOUS ENVIRONMENTS .2. DEVELOPMENT OF CATALYSTS FOR GASIFICATION

A liquid water processing environment was used at 20 MPa and 350-degre es-C to convert organic compounds to methane and carbon dioxide in the presence of catalysts. This paper describes the evaluation of various types of base and noble metal catalysts and numerous support composit ions for the process. The feedstock used in these tests was a mixture of p-cresol and water. Nickel, ruthenium, and rhodium were identified as active metals for the reaction. Other metals from groups VIII, VIB, IB, and IIB were inactive or readily oxidized and lost activity. Stab le supports in the processing environment included alpha-alumina and z irconia. Silica and titania did not react chemically, but the tablet f orms lost their physical integrity. Alumina forms, other than alpha-al umina, reacted with water to form bohmite (gamma-AlOOH) with significa nt loss of surface area and physical strength.