Effect of Mo promotion on the activity and selectivity of Ru/Graphite catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis

Issues and challenges of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalysts

Depletion of oil and gas resources is a major concern for researchers and the global community. Researchers are trying to develop a way to overcome these issues using the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) process. The FTS reaction converts a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide gases into a liquid fuel. The reactions are performed in the reactor and in the presence of a catalyst. A series of catalysts, such as iron, cobalt, nickel, and ruthenium, have been used for the FTS process. In iron-based catalysts, the Fe5C phase is the active phase that produces C5+ hydrocarbons. At higher conversion rates, the presence of water in the products is a problem for cobalt catalysts because it can trigger catalyst deactivation mechanisms. Ni-based catalysts play key roles as base catalysts, promoters, and photothermal catalysts in FTS reactions to produce different useful hydrocarbons. Ruthenium catalysts offer not only high activity but also selectivity toward long-chain hydrocarbons. Moreover, depending on the Ru particle size and interaction with the oxide support, the catalyst properties can be tuned to enhance the catalytic activity during FTS. The detailed reaction pathways based on catalyst properties are explained in this article. This review article describes the issues and challenges associated with catalysts used for the FTS process.

Amino-Modified Silica as Effective Support of the Palladium Catalyst for 4-Nitroaniline Hydrogenation

The article describes the synthesis of aminoorgano-functionalized silica as a prospective material for catalysis application. The amino groups have electron donor properties which are valuable for the metal chemical state of palladium. Therefore, the presence of electron donor groups is important for increasing catalysts’ stability. The research is devoted to the investigation of silica amino-modified support influence on the activity and stability of palladium species in 4-nitroaniline hydrogenation process. A series of catalysts with different supports such as SiO2, SiO2-C3H6-NH2 (amino-functionalized silica), γ-Al2O3 and activated carbon were studied. The catalytic activity was studied in the hydrogenation of 4-nitroaniline to 1,4-phenylenediamine. The catalysts were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and chemisorption of hydrogen by the pulse technique. The 5 wt.% Pd/SiO2-C3H6-NH2 catalyst exhibited the highest catalytic activity for 4-nitroaniline hydrogenation with 100% conversion and 99% selectivity with respect to 1,4-phenylenediamine.