CO2 hydrogenation to synthetic fuel via modified Fischer-Tropsch process using cobalt-based catalysts

Abstract: The effect of promoting Co/Al2O3 catalyst with potassium on CO2 hydrogenation to longerchain hydrocarbons was investigated. The catalysts used in this study were synthesized using an incipient wetness impregnation of the support with cobalt nitrate solutions. All catalysts were supported on γ-alumina and promoted with potassium (0 – 8 wt.%) and/or 0 – 3 wt.% of either copper, ruthenium or palladium. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), tempetature programmed reduction (TPR) and CO2 temperature programmed desorption (CO2–TPD) analyses. The catalysts were evaluated for CO2 hydrogenation using a fixed-bed tube reactor. The effect of reaction temperature (190 – 345 oC) during CO2 hydrogenation was evaluated at atmospheric pressure to determine the optimum reaction temperature that would favor the formation of longer chain hydrocarbons. Once the optimum temperature was selected, the effect of pressure (1 – 20 bar) was evaluated to determine the optimum operating pressure under the selected optimum temperature...D.Phil. (Chemical Engineering