Fischer-Tropsch Studies in a 3D-Printed Stainless Steel Microchannel Microreactor Coated with Cobalt-based Bimetallic-MCM-41 Catalysts

Publication date: Available online 20 February 2020Source: Catalysis TodayAuthor(s): Nafeezuddin Mohammad, Richard Y. Abrokwah, Robert G. Stevens-Boyd, Shyam Aravamudhan, Debasish KuilaAbstractFischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis was carried out using 3D-printed stainless steel (SS) microreactors, containing channels of dimensions 500 μm × 500 μm ×2.7 cm, to study the effect of Fe, Ru, and Ni on Co-MCM-41 catalyst. The mono and bimetallic cobalt-based catalysts: 15% Co-MCM-41, 10%Co5% Ru MCM-41, 10%Co 5%Ni MCM-41, and 10%Co 5%Fe MCM-41 were synthesized using one-pot hydrothermal method and characterized by SEM-EDX, TEM, TPR, FTIR, XPS, and low and wide angle XRD techniques. All the catalysts exhibited high surface area without the loss of ordered mesoporous structure as confirmed by large BET surface areas (400- 1000 m2/g) and low angle XRD data. The metal nanoparticles were in the range of 35-50 nm and well dispersed in a hexagonal matrix of MCM-41. TPR data indicate that all other metal oxides except that of cobalt can be reduced with H2 below 600 °C. Cobalt is present most likely as cobalt silicates that can only be reduced with H2 at a temperature over 650 °C. The microchannels of SS reactor were uniformly coated by dip coating a slurry of the catalyst with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The catalytic performance for FT synthesis was carried out in the SS microreactor at atmospheric pressure in the temperature range of 180 – 300 °C with H2/CO molar ratio of...
Source: Catalysis Today - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research