Abstract In this study, the catalyst composition in binary ZnO-Al2O3 catalyst was initially evaluated and optimized for methanol steam reforming. Then different Na contents were loaded by an incipient wetness impregnation method onto the optimized ZnAl catalyst. It was found that the activity was greatly enhanced by the modification of Na, which depended on the Na content in the catalyst. The methanol conversion was 96% on a 0.1 Na/0.4 ZnAl catalyst (GHSV = 14,040 h −1 , S/C = 1.4, 350˚C), which was much higher with respect to a Na-free 0.4 ZnAl catalyst (74%). The remarkable improvement of activity was attributed to a weakening of the C-H bonds and clear of hydroxyl group by the Na dopant leading to an accelerated dehydrogenation of the reaction intermediates formed on ZnAl2O4 spinel surface and thus the overall reaction
