Pretreatment effect studies with Co/ZnO catalyst in a fixed bed reactor

Abstract

Cobalt supported on zinc oxide catalyst (Co/ZnO) with cobalt loading of 10 wt.% was used in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) to convert syngas to higher hydrocarbons in a fixed bed reactor. Prior to reaction catalyst was pretreated using hydrogen or carbon monoxide. Catalyst was characterized by different methods such as BET, X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature programmed reduction (TPR), temperature programmed hydrogenation (TPH), temperature programmed oxidation (TPO), and hydrogen chemisorption (H2-TPD) with pulse re-oxidation. The results from FTS in a fixed bed reactor show low activity and high selectivity to C5+ hydrocarbons. Low catalyst activity may be attributed to low surface area of the catalyst (8.8 m2/g) and relatively low dispersion (4.1%).