Sustainable Valorization of Spent Car Catalytic Converter as a Catalyst for Formic Acid Dehydrogenation

ABSTRACT Formic acid (FA, HCOOH) is one of the possible hydrogen carriers due to its high hydrogen content and liquid‐phase stability. In this study, the formic acid dehydrogenation (FAD) reaction was investigated using a spent car catalytic converter (S‐CCC) as a catalyst. The catalyst was characterized via TGA, XRD, N 2 sorption, FTIR, and SEM/EDS analyses, confirming the presence of active metal oxides such as Al 2 O 3 , MgO, CeO 2 , ZrO 2 , and PdO, as well as a mesoporous structure with high thermal stability. The catalytic performance of S‐CCC was evaluated under varying temperatures (70–90°C), catalyst dosages (0.20–0.60 g), and FA concentrations (1–5 M). The results showed that the hydrogen generation rate increased with temperature, and optimal gas generation (∼80 mL) was observed at 80°C using 3 M FA and 0.20 g S‐CCC. No modification was applied to the S‐CCC, highlighting its practical feasibility, and the findings demonstrate that this catalyst is a low‐cost, eco‐friendly, and effective catalyst for hydrogen production via FAD reaction.