CO2 hydrogenation toward
gaseous and liquid hydrocarbons
has been experimentally studied over a Fe–K/Al2O3 catalyst in a fixed-bed reactor. At 15 bar, 300 °C,
2080 N mL/gcat/h, and H2/CO2 ratio
of 3, the catalyst is able to convert CO2 to an extent
of 30% and with a CO selectivity around 10%. Among hydrocarbons, linear
short olefins C2–C4 are the most abundant
product, but linear paraffins and alcohols are also formed and chains
until 30 carbon atoms are detected. Operating parameters were varied
(T between 250 and 300 °C, total pressure between
10 and 25 bar, H2/CO2 ratio between 3 and 24,
and GHSV between 832 and 7059 N mL/gcat/h) in order to
study their effects on the catalyst activity and selectivity. It was
observed that the H2/CO2 inlet molar ratio is
a very important parameter, and a large excess of H2 at
the reactor inlet could lead to a significant increase of the CO2 conversion, with a minimization of the CO formation. Moreover,
a semiempirical macrokinetic model for this reaction was developed.
The model is able to describe with good accuracy the CO2 conversion and CO selectivity, as well as hydrocarbons distribution
according to their C number and their chemical nature. The model is
able to predict the experimental data within an error of 20% and with
a MARR lower than 5% in the experimental domain considered.
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