Fe, Co and Fe/Co catalysts supported on SBA-15 for Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis

Abstract

Iron, cobalt, and bimetallic catalysts were synthesized from their cationic solutions and impregnated on mesoporous silica support (i.e., SBA-15) to study their behavior in the catalytic hydrogenation of CO (Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis). N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms at 77 K showed that the mesoporous structure remained unchanged after the metal impregnation; however, the overall textural properties of impregnated materials decreased. SEM images did not show the presence of metal deposits on the support surface; however, both EDS and XRF analysis indicated the presence of iron and cobalt. Both XPS and TPR identified hematite and cobalt oxide as the main components in catalysts. In the Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis, the bimetallic catalysts presented higher activity than monometallic catalysts. The two bimetallic catalysts presented a decrease in methane selectivity and high production of gasoline and hydrocarbon chains larger than decane.