The kinetics of the CO hydrogenation reaction over a Fe–Mn fused catalyst was investigated in a fixed-bed micro-reactor.

An investigation of the kinetic and mechanism of CO hydrogenation reaction was performed on impregnated Co‐Ni/Al2O3. Determination of kinetic parameters from the experiments was carried out in a micro fixed‐bed reactor. Kinetic evaluations were performed under various operational conditions of T = 473–673 K, p = 1–14 bar, H2/CO = 1–3, and GHSV = 4,500 hr−1. Kinetic models and rate equations for CO consumption were obtained by using two main‐type rate equations of Langmuir‐Hinshelwood‐Hougen‐Watson (LHHW) and Eley‐Rideal (ER). Estimation of various kinetic parameters was performed using a nonlinear regression method. According to the obtained experimental results and using statistical criteria, one kinetic expression based on the LHHW mechanism (‐rCO = kp.bCO.PCO. bH2. PH2/[1+ bCO.PCO + bH2.PH2]2) was chosen as the best‐fitted model. For this fitted model, the activation energy was found to be 109.2 kJ/mol. Characterization of the catalyst was also performed using X‐ray diffraction (XRD), BET, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy‐dispersive x‐ray spectrometer (EDS) techniques.

As a catalyst skeleton, the morphological design of support materials is definitely important since the performance of the catalyst is strongly influenced by the structural and textural properties of the support. Herein, an innovative scalable synthesis of γ-alumina microgranules was performed by designing a setup to combine sol−gel, oil-drop, and electrospray methods in order to study the effects of alumina microgranule morphology on cobalt catalyst performance for Fischer−Tropsch synthesis (FTS). Different drying conditions were applied to prepare γ-alumina support with different crystalline phases and morphological structures. Depending on the drying method of the hydrogel precursor, the structural and textural properties of the microgranules were improved. Cobalt catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation on alumina microgranules for FTS in the slurry phase and in a fixed bed reactor. The results showed that the change in the morphological properties of alumina affects its oxidation state in addition to affecting the distribution of cobalt nanoparticles. The two-dimensional structure aerogel nanosheets provide uniform distribution of the cobalt particles, while alumina xerogels exhibit significant shrinkage during the drying process, resulting in predominance of aggregation behavior on cobalt particles. This research focused on the development of ambigel as an effective intermediate of aerogel and xerogel for catalytic applications.