CeO₂-, ZrO₂-, and La₂O₃-supported Rh-Pt catalysts were tested to assess their ability to catalyze the steam reforming of ethanol (SRE) for H₂ production. SRE activity tests were performed using EtOH:H₂O:N₂ (molar ratio 1:3:51) at a gaseous space velocity of 70,600 h⁻¹ between 400 and 700 °C at atmospheric pressure. The SRE stability of the catalysts was tested at 700 °C for 27 h time on stream under the same conditions. RhPt/CeO₂, which showed the best performance in the stability test, also produced the highest H₂ yield above 600 °C, followed by RhPt/La₂O₃ and RhPt/ZrO₂. The fresh and aged catalysts were characterized by TEM, XPS, and TGA. The higher H₂ selectivity of RhPt/CeO₂ was ascribed to the formation of small (~5 nm) and stable particles probably consistent of Rh-Pt alloys with a Pt surface enrichment. Both metals were oxidized and acted as an almost constant active phase during the stability test owing to strong metal-support interactions, as well as the superior oxygen mobility of the support. The TGA results confirmed the absence of carbonaceous residues in all the aged catalysts.

The steam reforming of ethanol (SRE) on a bimetallic RhPt/CeO₂ catalyst was evaluated by the integration of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Aspen Plus (version 9.0, Aspen Tech, Burlington, MA, USA, 2016). First, the effect of the Rh–Pt weight ratio (1:0, 3:1, 1:1, 1:3, and 0:1) on the performance of SRE on RhPt/CeO₂ was assessed between 400 to 700 °C with a stoichiometric steam/ethanol molar ratio of 3. RSM enabled modeling of the system and identification of a maximum of 4.2 mol H₂/mol EtOH (700 °C) with the Rh_0.4Pt_0.4/CeO₂ catalyst. The mathematical models were integrated into Aspen Plus through Excel in order to simulate a process involving SRE, H₂ purification, and electricity production in a fuel cell (FC). An energy sensitivity analysis of the process was performed in Aspen Plus, and the information obtained was used to generate new response surfaces. The response surfaces demonstrated that an increase in H₂ production requires more energy consumption in the steam reforming of ethanol. However, increasing H₂ production rebounds in more energy production in the fuel cell, which increases the overall efficiency of the system. The minimum H₂ yield needed to make the system energetically sustainable was identified as 1.2 mol H₂/mol EtOH. According to the results of the integration of RSM models into Aspen Plus, the system using Rh_0.4Pt_0.4/CeO₂ can produce a maximum net energy of 742 kJ/mol H₂, of which 40% could be converted into electricity in the FC (297 kJ/mol H₂ produced). The remaining energy can be recovered as heat.