Study of structural and catalytic properties of Cu catalyst prepared from inorganic complex precursor for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis

In recent years, the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) has received considerable attention from academic institutions and governments alike, due to environmental contamination, rapidly rising price of crude oil and subtractive oil reserves [1-3]. The FTS is a viable route for the production of clean fuels from biomass-derived syngas, natural gas, or coal. In this process, highly important factor is a catalyst, which is selected based on the key role in product distribution. The silica supported Cu catalyst synthesized by thermal decomposition of inorganic precursor was evaluated for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS); the structural properties and performance of the catalyst was compared to those of samples constructed via impregnation method. The results revealed that the synthesized catalyst have higher catalytic activity comparison to it prepared via the conventional impregnation method. Activity of the catalyst in FTS was investigated at 280- 400 °C with H2/CO ratio of 2 and specified that the fabricated catalysts are more active than impregnation reference sample.

Keywords:

Inorganic precursor , Impregnation , Fischer-Tropsch synthesis , Synthesis route