Collaboration agreement between ENGIE and CNR-ITAE - Intensification of Hydrogen production from Ammonia, Methane and MEthanol thRough 3D printed reactors (HAMMER-3D). Technical Assistance on catalytic coating and characterization of 3D printed reactors. Technical report N. 9/2023 (01/01/2022 - 31/12/2022)

These activities carried out by CNR-ITAE during the first-year deals with the development of coating methods based on a dip - spinning technique to deposit thin catalytic layers onto Periodic Open Cellular Structures (POCs) with cylindrical shape (10 mm diameter and 15 mm length) of different geometry (BCC, kelvin) and several materials (Al-, Ni-, Cu-alloys, Al2O3, ZrO2) manufactured (3D printed) and delivered to CNR by ENGIE. An aqueous liquid medium based on water, glycerol, and polyvinyl alcohol (slurry) has been optimized, through rheological studies, to obtain homogeneous and stable catalytic layers. The bare and activated supports were characterized by SEM/EDX. Moreover, porosity and pressure drop measurements were also carried out. Adhesion of the deposited layers, evaluated by accelerated stress test in an ultrasound bath, pointed out that the presence of anchoring points, the thermal or anodization pre-treatment (or both) of supports or the primer (DISPERAL P2) utilization (both in the slurry and coated on the supports) play a crucial role in achieving high mechanical stability which is characterized by a weight loss between 0.86 wt.% (for BCC structures) and 7.3wt.% (for Kelvin structures).