Co-Ru catalysts with different composite oxide supports for Fischer–Tropsch studies in 3D-printed stainless steel microreactors

• Published in: Applied catalysis. A, General General, 2020-11, Vol.608, p.117838, Article 117838
• Main Authors: Bepari, S., Li, Xin, Abrokwah, R., Mohammad, N., Arslan, M., Kuila, D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alumina-titania; Aluminum oxide; Bimetals; Catalysts; Coking; CoRu catalyst; Deactivation; FT synthesis; Mesoporous composite oxide; Microchannels; Microreactors; Physiochemistry; Silica-alumina; Silicon dioxide; SS microreactor; Stainless steel; Stainless steels; Three dimensional printing; Titanium dioxide; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy
• ISSN: 0926-860X; 1873-3875
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apcata.2020.117838

[Display omitted] •Bimetallic Co-Ru catalysts with three different mesoporous composite oxides supports were prepared by incipient wet-impregnation (IWI) and one-pot synthesis methods.•3-D printed Stainless-Steel (SS) microreactor coated with catalysts was used for F-T synthesis.•Effect of different mesoporous composite oxide supports (m-SiO2-Al2O3, m-SiO2-TiO2 and m-Al2O3-TiO2) on catalyst structure and activity was investigated.•10Co5Ru/m-SiO2-TiO2 (IWI) catalyst exhibited highest CO conversion and stability. Bimetallic Co-Ru on different mesoporous composite oxides (m-SiO2-Al2O3, m-SiO2-TiO2, m-TiO2-Al2O3) and CoRu-m-SiO2-TiO2 were synthesized by incipient wet-impregnation (IWI) and one-pot (OP) hydrothermal methods, respectively. Bimetallic catalysts were coated in the microchannels of 3D-printed stainless steel (SS) microreactors for Fischer-Tropsch (FT) studies. The physiochemical properties of the catalysts were examined by BET, XRD, SEM, TEM, TPR, TGA-DSC and XPS techniques. The TPR results showed that the method and the composite support had a profound effect on the reducibility of the active sites. All the catalysts resisted deactivation for first 50 h and 10Co5Ru/m-SiO2-TiO2 (IWI) was most stable with ∼80 % CO conversion at the end of 60 h. The stability and activity of the catalysts were observed in the order: 10Co5Ru/m-SiO2-TiO2 (IWI) >10Co5Ru/m-SiO2-Al2O3 (IWI) >10Co5Ru/m-Al2O3-TiO2 (IWI) >10Co5Ru-m-SiO2-TiO2 (OP). The TPO and XRD analyses of the spent catalysts confirmed coking as a potential factor but not the only cause of catalyst deactivation over time.