Recent developments in catalyst pretreatment technologies for cobalt based Fisher–Tropsch synthesis

Abstract

Stringent environmental regulations and energy insecurity necessitate the development of an integrated process to produce high-quality fuels from renewable resources and to reduce dependency on fossil fuels, in this case Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS). The FT activity and selectivity are significantly influenced by the pretreatment of the catalyst. This article reviews traditional and developing processes for pretreatment of cobalt catalysts with reference to their application in FTS. The activation atmosphere, drying, calcination, reduction conditions and type of support are critical factors that govern the reducibility, dispersion and crystallite size of the active phase. Compared to traditional high temperature H2 activation, both hydrogenation–carbidisation–hydrogenation and reduction–oxidation–reduction pretreatment cycles result in improved metal dispersion and exhibit much higher FTS activity. Cobalt carbide (Co2C) formed by CO treatment has the potential to provide a simpler and more effective way of producing lower olefins, and higher alcohols directly from syngas. Syngas activation or direct synthesis of the metallic cobalt catalyst has the potential to remove the expensive H2 pretreatment procedure, and consequently simplify the pretreatment process, which would make it more economical and thus more attractive to industry.

A Review on Green Hydrogen Valorization by Heterogeneous Catalytic Hydrogenation of Captured CO2 into Value-Added Products

“…Therefore, these are similar catalysts to those employed in the last few years to obtain olefins from syngas. The main handicap is that these catalysts also work for the water-gasshift reaction (WGSR), producing large amounts of CO 2 as areaction product [412][413][414]. Some recent research using different catalysts as well as different kinds of feedstocks (coal, biomass, methane via reforming, and nonconventional energy sources) to obtain the syn-gas (CO and H 2 ) is shown in Table 12.…”

The Influence of Platinum on the Catalytic Properties of Bifunctional Cobalt Catalysts for the Synthesis of Hydrocarbons from CO and H2

“…A universal way to obtain environmentally friendly alternative fuels to oil are XTL (X-to-liquid) technologies using coal, biomass, shale, natural and associated petroleum gases, etc. [2][3][4][5][6]. GTL-version technology for the production of transport fuels with high added value from synthesis gas by catalytic Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FT), combined with hydroprocessing of the resulting hydrocarbons (mainly n-alkanes and alkenes with different carbon chain lengths) in one reaction apparatus, is commercially promising.…”

Direct Visualization of CO Interaction on Oxygen Poisoned Co(0001)

“…As in the case of the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS), which has been an industrial success in transferring syngas to high-value-added petrochemical products, the cobalt-based catalyst has been a proven catalyst for decades with high selectivity for long-chain products at relatively low temperature. − Although the complexity of the reaction processes makes fundamental mechanism studies difficult and controversial, similarities and some common knowledge are reached. Deactivation of cobalt-based catalysts is reported to be caused by cobalt sintering, , cobalt carbidization, , and cobalt oxidation , as well.…”

“…7−10 Although the complexity of the reaction processes makes fundamental mechanism studies difficult and controversial, similarities and some common knowledge are reached. Deactivation of cobalt-based catalysts is reported to be caused by cobalt sintering, 11,12 cobalt carbidization, 13,14 and cobalt oxidation 15,16 as well.…”