The conversion of
CO2 and clean H2 to CO
and H2O via the reverse water–gas shift reaction
(rWGS) yields sustainable synthesis gas and opens up routes to low-carbon
fuels via subsequent conventional processes such as Fischer–Tropsch
synthesis which typically takes place between 200 and 350 °C.
However, other CO2 hydrogenation products, such as methane
and methanol, are thermodynamically much more stable at temperatures
below 600–700 °C and at higher pressures. It is hence
highly desirable to develop CO-selective rWGS catalysts that are active
at low temperatures to facilitate process integration. We studied
alkali-promoted Cu-based catalysts at varying pressure (20–40
bar(g)), temperature (180–260 °C), and H2:CO2 feed ratio (1:1, 3:1, 9:1). The addition of either K or Na
boosted the CO2 conversion about 3-fold for carbon-supported
Cu catalysts reaching equilibrium conversion at 260 °C, an effect
that was not observed for silica-supported catalysts. Even at high
pressures and high H2 content in the feed, the selectivity
to CO remained close to 100%, showing that the K and Na promoters
completely suppressed methanol and methane formation in these systems.
The remarkable overall performance of these catalysts opens perspectives
on the low-temperature operation of the rWGS reaction to produce sustainable
fuels and building blocks.