TPU researchers created a new domestic catalyst to process synthesis gas

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TPU researchers created a new domestic catalyst to process synthesis gas

Researchers at Tomsk Polytechnic University have developed new highly efficient catalysts for synthesis gas processing using the Fischer-Tropsch process. The experiments have shown that catalysts based on cobalt nanopowders obtained by the method of conductor electric explosion are highly active in synthesis processes with a low hydrogen content in the feed gas. This means that they can be promising to make eco-friendly fuel components by processing synthesis gas produced by biomass pyrolysis or from other unconventional sources.

Researchers at Tomsk Polytechnic University have developed new highly efficient catalysts for synthesis gas processing using the Fischer-Tropsch process. The experiments have shown that catalysts based on cobalt nanopowders obtained by the method of conductor electric explosion are highly active in synthesis processes with a low hydrogen content in the feed gas. This means that they can be promising to make eco-friendly fuel components by processing synthesis gas produced by biomass pyrolysis or from other unconventional sources.

The results have been published in the journal Catalysts (Q2, IF: 4.0). The research was carried out with the support of the federal program "Priority 2030" of the national project "Youth and Children".

The search for alternatives to petroleum-based liquid fuels is one of the main tasks in the field of chemical engineering. Scientists consider processing of various organic waste and gasification products into motor fuel components and other valuable chemical products as a promising solution.

The Fischer-Tropsch reaction has acquired particular importance for the production of synthetic liquid fuels from natural gas, coal and biomass. However, currently there are no technological solutions and catalytic systems that allow obtaining high yields of liquid products using the Fischer-Tropsch method that would be suitable for the use as components of automobile gasoline, diesel fuels, aviation kerosene and lubricants. The key obstacles to the use of most of the products obtained are their high content of unsaturated hydrocarbons (aromatic and olefin), which reduce the performance characteristics of fuels and low degrees of conversion of carbon monoxide into hydrocarbons. Moreover, there is currently no method to obtain catalysts that can produce a high yield of liquid products from synthesis gas with a low hydrogen content.

Various catalytic systems are used for the synthesis of liquid hydrocarbons by the Fischer-Tropsch process. Catalysts based on ultrafine metal powders are of particular interest, and catalysts based on ultrafine cobalt particles are among them. The catalytic activity of cobalt in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis processes is known and has been studied in sufficient detail, however, according to researchers, it seems more promising to study the catalytic activity of cobalt nanopowder obtained by conductor electric explosion.

A distinctive feature of electro-explosive metal powders is their high surface energy and a multitude of crystal lattice defects on the surface, which ensures high catalytic activity in various processes. In addition, cobalt nanopowders obtained by conductor electric explosion are easy to manufacture, have low cost and good sintering resistance, which makes them promising for the use in the processing of synthesis gases with a high content of various impurities,

- says Evgeny Popok, one of the authors of the article, associate professor of the Department of Chemical Engineering of TPU .

Highly dispersed cobalt powder was obtained by conductor electric explosion in an inert atmosphere. The essence of the method is to pass a pulsed current of high density and power through a conductor, in this case, a cobalt wire with a diameter of 1 mm. The resulting nanopowder was compressed into tablets, which were then crushed into 0.5 - 1 mm fractions and loaded into a laboratory catalytic unit operating at elevated pressure.

Then the main characteristics of the obtained catalysts - chemical and phase composition and surface morphology - were determined. The catalytic activity of the developed catalysts (the degree of conversion of carbon monoxide, the yield of liquid and gaseous products, methane and carbon dioxide) and the optimal technological parameters of the process (temperature, pressure, volumetric feed rate, ratio of hydrogen and carbon monoxide in the feed gas) were also determined.

"It was established that highly dispersed cobalt powder obtained by electric explosion is a sufficiently active catalyst for the synthesis of liquid hydrocarbons by the Fischer-Tropsch process. Thus, the total degree of carbon monoxide conversion in the temperature range from 230 to 330 ° C ranges from 25 to 90%. The optimal temperature range was also identified - from 230 to 260 °C, at which the yield of synthesis by-products and gaseous hydrocarbons is quite low. Moreover, the experiments showed that cobalt nanopowder exhibits high catalytic activity in the formation of liquid hydrocarbons with low hydrogen content in the initial synthesis gas. This allows us to conclude about its potential application, for example, in the processing of gases produced by pyrolysis of biomass or other unconventional sources of synthesis gas. The catalysts we obtained also showed resistance to rapid deactivation under synthesis conditions at operating temperatures during long-term tests," adds the researcher.

Employees of the Chemical Engineering Department of the TPU Engineering School of Natural Resources participated in the study.