Enhancing the catalytic H₂ production performance of magnetic Ni-Fe₂O₃-C catalyst in biomass steam gasification using electromagnetic induction heating

In this study, a novel magnetic Ni-Fe₂O₃-C catalyst combined with electromagnetic induction heating in biomass steam gasification was proposed to enhance H₂ production. Better catalytic performance for H₂ production was observed with the Ni-Fe₂O₃-C catalyst under induction heating, resulting in an increase in H₂ yield from 735.1 to 2271.2 mL/g-biomass (a 209.1 % enhancement). SEM, TGA and XRD analysis demonstrated a significant decrease in coking deposition, caking, and particle agglomeration of the Ni-Fe₂O₃-C catalyst under induction heating, while maintaining more active sites. Importantly, the benefits of induction heating were also applicable to different magnetic catalysts like Ni-Al₂O₃-C, Ni-ZrO₂-C, and Ni-MgO-C. Experimental results revealed a logarithmic correlation between the increase in H₂ yields due to induction heating and the magnetic saturation (Ms) of the catalysts. The Ni-Fe₂O₃-C catalyst, with a high Ms of 50.9 emu/g, showed the highest catalytic activity for H₂ production under induction heating in this study.