Monometallic iron supported catalysts were prepared by the impregnation method and tested in Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) synthesis. The activity tests performed in the studied reaction showed that the composition of the catalyst strongly influences the reactivity of the catalytic systems in the F-T reaction. It was also found that the system which showed the highest content of iron species on the catalyst surface exhibited the highest yield in F-T reaction. In addition, the most active catalyst also showed high specific surface area, high total acidity value and the highest amount of iron species on the catalyst surface. The analysis of the liquid product of F-T synthesis confirmed the occurrence of aliphatic, branched and unsaturated linear hydrocarbons.
The main goal of the presented paper is to study the influence of a range of support materials, i.e., multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), Al2O3-Cr2O3 (2:1), zeolite β-H and zeolite β-Na on the physicochemical and catalytic properties in Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) synthesis. All tested Fe catalysts were synthesized using the impregnation method. Their physicochemical properties were extensively investigated using various characterization techniques such as the Temperature-Programmed Reduction of hydrogen (TPR-H2), X-ray diffraction, Temperature-Programmed Desorption of ammonia (TPD-NH3), Temperature-Programmed Desorption of carbon dioxide (TPD-CO2), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), Brunauer Emmett Teller method (BET) and Thermogravimetric Differential Analysis coupled with Mass Spectrometer (TG-DTA-MS). Activity tests were performed in F-T synthesis using a high-pressure fixed bed reactor and a gas mixture of H2 and CO (50% CO and 50% H2). The correlation between the physicochemical properties and reactivity in F-T synthesis was determined. The highest activity was from a 40%Fe/Al2O3-Cr2O3 (2:1) system which exhibited 89.9% of CO conversion and 66.6% selectivity toward liquid products. This catalyst also exhibited the lowest acidity, but the highest quantity of iron carbides on its surface. In addition, in the case of iron catalysts supported on MWCNTs or a binary oxide system, the smallest amount of carbon deposit formed on the surface of the catalyst during the F-T process was confirmed.
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