1.0. Introduction
Current developments of global FT synthesis capability and the advances of scholar research on the subject validate the continuing attention to the synthesis methods of promoted supported catalysts [
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6]. The current plentiful of natural gas and elevated market need for clean fuels all around the world has led to a shift in attention to supported Co-based FTS catalysts more especially for the production on long chain hydrocarbons (C
5+). These supported catalysts (promoted or unpromoted) have been considered to be ideal for FTS. However, the key barrier in the FTS process is product selectivity, as formation of products is linked to the Anderson-Schulz Flory (ASF) law [
7,
8,
9,
10,
11,
12]. So, to be economically viable, it is important to optimally alter the catalyst composition and structure as well as process parameters as illustrated in
Figure 1 below. By so doing, product distribution can be shifted towards target products [
13,
14]. So, the selection of the optimum factors, whichever individually or in mixture, can sustain the yield, without any need for catalyst replacement in a short time. Different parameters, therefore, (mainly catalyst type), can be manipulated to maximize FT activity coupled with higher product selectivity.
Catalyst formulation plus activation are some of the important factors that can be modified to give the supported Co catalyst the desired characteristics for enhanced selectivity, i.e., development and manipulation of catalyst or support structures of Cobalt-grounded FT catalysts to obtain enhanced pore transfer rates which leads to limited secondary hydrogenation plus increased proportion of liquid olefins. Alternative approaches have demonstrated beneficial aspects that restrict unwanted over-cracking in the FTS process, [
15,
16]. Both the pore transport improvement and surface modification effects can offer a blueprint regarding eccentric FT product dispersals aiming at high α-olefin product and heavier paraffinic fuel selectivities maintaining the principal zero CO
2 by-product characteristic of supported cobalt-based FT catalysts [
17].
Early investigations primarily concentrated on synthesizing and characterizing well-defined model catalysts. These studies yielded valuable insights into the influence of factors such as Co particle size [
18,
19,
20,
21], crystallographic structure [
22], thermal history [
23], and the effect of promoters [
24,
25,
26] on catalyst functioning. Nevertheless, they often overlooked the impact of support materials on catalytic behaviour.
Support materials play a pivotal role in cobalt-based catalysts for FTS by providing framework strength and stabilizing the distributed Co particles. Various materials including alumina, (Al
2O
3) [
33,
34,
35,
36,
37], silica (SiO
2) [
27,
28,
29,
30,
31,
32], silicon carbides (SiC) [
45], Titania (TiO
2), [
38,
39,
40] mixed oxides [
41], zeolites [
42,
43,
44], , and carbon nanostructures [
46] have been studied as support candidates. Among these, surface modified SiO
2, Al
2O
3, and TiO
2 are predominantly used for Co-based catalysts due to their appropriate porosity, stability and, mechanical features under FTS environment.
Silica, a commonly used support material, offers benefits for instance increased surface area, microporosity and microporosity properties as required [
28,
47,
48,
49,
50]. However, the limited interaction between metal catalysts and silica can hinder the crystallites dispersion, thereby reducing the quantity of active sites available for catalysis. Conversely, alumina is considered the most desirable catalyst support because of its great surface area likewise excellent mechanical properties. Despite its benefits, alumina faces challenges such as stability issues and the development of tough-to-activate aluminates, particularly in acidic or alcoholic reactions [
28,
47,
48,
49,
50].
Advancements in the materials design have empowered significant fabrication of very porous supports expanding the range of potential catalyst supports for various processes. Additionally, catalyst support modification has emerged as a approach to boost the performance hence high product selectivity of heterogeneous catalysts [
52]. By modifying the support material chemically or physically, it is possible to influence features including pore size distribution, surface area, acidity/basicity, and thermal stability, thereby improving FT synthesis efficacy.
Earlier studies explored the impact of supports on the performance of catalyst, i.e., they examined the effect brought by chemical composition of supports. Reuel and Bartholomew [
53] noted a decrease turnover frequency (TOF) following the sequence Co/TiO
2 > Co/SiO
2 > Co/Al
2O
3 > Co/MgO. Conversely, Borg et al. [
54] observed a significant support effect on hydrocarbon selectivity patterns when comparing Co crystallites of the same size on various Al
2O
3 supports. However, Iglesia and colleagues [
55] reported negligible support effects catalyst performance and product formation on catalysts supported on magnesiochromite (MgCr
2O
4), SiO
2, and Al
2O
3. Moreover, investigation has been done on the function of rare-earth-metal and alkali-metal oxides. Takahashi et al. [
56] found that modifying an Al
2O
3 support using rare-earth-metal oxides positively impacted catalyst performance and formation of long chain hydrocarbons for CoRu/ Al
2O
3 catalysts, contrasting with observations by Bertole et al. [
57] who realised negative effects on FT performance while using yttrium oxide (Yox) for CoRe/TiO
2 and CoRe/Al
2O
3 catalysts. Thus, despite advanced scientific and technical magnitude, the influence provided by the chemical features of support materials on catalytic activity remains incompletely understood, with contradictory findings in earlier literature.
Modification of the textural features of Al
2O
3 facilitates the addition of active metals also it enhances accessibility of active metal species. Co/SiO
2 FTS catalysts display improved C
5+ formation and reduce CH
4 compared to Co/ Al
2O
3. Larger Co crystallites (lower dispersions) that are simpler to reduce are frequently formed during the Co FTS catalyst production process when silica is used as a support in place of alumina [
58,
59]. Extensive research has been conducted about the impact of silica structure as a cobalt catalyst support. Ernst et al. [
60], for instance, looked at the FT performance of cobalt supported by silica in both basic and acidic conditions. They discovered that the support surface area and catalyst activity are directly connected, and that SiO
2 supported catalysts having typical pore sizes of less than 4 nm yield the least methane selectivity. According to a study by Saib et al. [
61], silica supports with medium pore size (10nm) had the high catalytic performance and heavy hydrocarbon formation.TiO
2 displays exceptional chemical and thermal resistance. The intensity of the MSI of Co-TiO
2 lies between those of Al
2O
3 and SiO
2 [
39,
62]. Zeolites are attractive due to their shape-selective properties, which can restrict product development bigger than their pore sizes also limiting higher hydrocarbon selectivity in FTS by constraining chain growth. Carbon materials have also gained attention for their exceptional resistance in both basic and acidic environments [
63,
64,
65,
66,
67]. The pore structure of carbon materials can be tailored to target specific reactions. Carbon’s fundamental inertness towards producing weak MSI is crucial for achieving a higher reduction degree, making it suitable as an FTS catalyst support [
62].
Current understanding points to two primary causes of differences in previous research. First, intra-pellet diffusion rates of reactants and products are impacted by the variation in intrinsic textural qualities across various oxides, which influences both activity and selectivity [
68,
69]. Second, catalysts with significantly varied metal dispersions exhibit distinct activity and selectivity due to particle size effects when a specific cobalt weight loading is applied to supports with varying specific surface areas. Therefore, it is necessary to precisely control parameters like support texture, the degree of Co reduction, and particle size in order to isolate the inherent impact of the chemical nature of the support material on catalytic performance [
70].
In this article, we explored the different and contemporary strategies for catalyst support modification and their effects in terms of active metals (mainly Co) crystallite sizes, degree of reduction, and catalyst activity and selectivity for FTS. Advancement of these capable catalysts draws attention to the possibilities of understanding the efficacy of promoted supported catalysts and illuminating their complex and dynamic effects in FTS.
3.0. Support Modification for FTS
Divergence in the effect brought by supports in FTS regarding activity and hydrocarbon selectivity still exist. Iglesia [
55] has conveyed information saying that oxide supports as well as their altered kinds do not affect FTS performance as opposed to the improved activity ascribed to better metal dispersion. Nonetheless, variations in product selectivity are primarily attributed to reactants and products-diffusion effects brought by enhanced secondary reactions i.e., re-adsorption of olefins [
135]. Further research has shown that the chemical structure and support permeability are vital in the fundamental product selectivity in the FT reactions.
In addition, it is reflected that the support can influence the FTS activity indirectly. The physicochemical support features, including pore volume and diameter, can effectively alter the particle sizes of Co
0 plus its degree of reduction. Despite so much satisfactory research on conventional supports i.e., silica, alumina, and titania on FT catalysts, there is a lot that can be done to discover and develop new support materials with boosted characteristics. Novel carriers including silicon carbides, nanoparticles, and ordered mesoporous supports with advanced chemical compositions have attracted substantial consideration for numerous applications with minimum undesired properties such as extremely weak or strong metal-support interaction. [
136,
137]
3.1. Effect of Support Modification on Catalyst Reduction for Fischer Tropsch Synthesis
Promoter integration can adjust the MSI as well as accomplish an improved performance because of the effortless activation of cobalt oxides and limitations on the development of non-reducible eliminates and silicates. Hence, commercially accessible inorganic supports [
138,
139], have been tailored with additional oxides such as MgO, La
2O
3, ZrO2, and other elements as “promoters” to modify the MSI. In many cases, the incorporation of oxides to modify the support and hence the catalyst has shown signs of an improved degree of reduction and improved performance due to the weakened MSI [
140].
Li et al performed H
2-TPR on their catalysts to evaluate the reduction performance of cobalt oxide Co
3O
4. Two key peaks were noted in all catalysts. It is well-detailed that the 1
st peak corresponds to the reduction of Co
3O
4 to CoO and the 2
nd peak corresponds to the conversion of CoO to metallic Co [
28,
36]. In their experiment, they found the 2
nd peak broader which implies various CoO particles have interacted differently with the support SiC or particles of CoO having broad particle size distribution. For the catalyst promoted with ZrO
2 i.e., Co/Zr/SiC, the catalyst was simpler to reduce as compared to the non-promoted Co/SiC as illustrated by the sharp 1
st and 2
nd peaks activating 319 and 370
oC. The easement in reduction for the catalyst Co/Zr/SiC was mainly due to bigger crystallite size coupled by exterior located cobalt oxide species. Apart from the two main peaks, the small peak was realized at a temperature of 620
oC which was the result of better interaction of the Co-Zr particles with SiC. However, these results were contrary to what was obtained for catalysts promoted with Ca and Mn. It was discovered catalyst promotion with Mn and Ca triggers shifts in the activation of Co species together with subsequent degrees of reduction which dropped to 57% and 45% respectively. Therefore, it has been established that putting additives of Zr enhanced Co catalyst reduction while Mn and Ca decreased the reducibility of Co catalyst [
141].
For Illoy and Jalam’s experiments, it was found that more than two peaks occurred in the H
2-TPR experiment which showed that some of the Co species did not reduce at the same time i.e., as N
2 adsorption results indicate some kind of catalyst’s pore impediment which implies that some particles reduced following the ones blocking the pores reduced. By promoting with potassium K, the degree of reduction was decreased further due to the following reasons: (i) The catalyst activation temperatures changed to higher rates, e.g., at the beginning of the reduction procedure, unpromoted catalyst reduction temperature shifted from 170 to 210
oC and 255
oC for catalyst promoted with 1% and 3-5% K respectively; (ii) As K-addition increased, the area under the TPR outline under 500
oC declined, signifying lower reduction degree (iii) the broader peak for catalysts containing 5% K at temperature of 512
oC, indicating strengthened support interaction with Co catalyst. This undesirable influence on the K on the degree of reduction agreed to Jacobs et al. [
142] experiments who observed that loading (0.5-5%) K lifted reduction temperatures to elevated temperatures and hence lesser reduction degree. So, has been indicated that potassium affects the interaction connecting cobalt particles with the silica support [
143].
Table 3.
Summary of modified catalysts and/or supports and their effects on catalyst reducibility.
Table 3.
Summary of modified catalysts and/or supports and their effects on catalyst reducibility.
Sample |
Reduction degree (DOR) |
Ref. |
Co/Al |
39 |
Garcilaso et_al, 2019 [144] |
Co/Zr-Al |
40 |
Garcilaso et_al, 2019 [144] |
Co/Ce-Al |
35 |
Garcilaso et_al, 2019 [144] |
|
|
|
Co/Al |
42 |
Barrientos, Garcilaso, Venezia, & Aho, 2017 [145] |
Co/Zr-Al P |
44 |
Barrientos et_al, 2017 [145] |
Co/Zr-Al ME |
40 |
Barrientos et_al, 2017 [145] |
|
|
|
Co/MS |
98.28 |
Wu, Yang, Suo, Qing, Yan, Wu, et al., 2015 [146] |
Co/Zr-MS |
97.55 |
Wu, Yang, Suo, Qing, Yan, Wu, et al., 2015 [146] |
Co/TiZr-MS |
71.17 |
Wu, Yang, Suo, Qing, Yan, Wu, et al., 2015 [146] |
|
|
|
Co/Pt/SiO2
|
96 |
Breejen et_al, 2011 [147] |
Co/MnO/Pt/SiO2
|
94 |
Breejen et_al, 2011 [147] |
From Barrientos et al, [
145] the approximated (DOR) was done after 16 hours in an H
2 environment. The DOR was as little as around 40% for all three catalysts with a slight difference with Zr addition. These findings were anticipated because the TPR results reveal that Co
2+ activates at a temperature over 600 °C. However, the little changes in the reduction degree might have developed from instrument and technical errors. With these results, they presumed that adding some Zr to modify the alumina support has an insignificant effect on the catalyst reducibility. Furthermore, varying catalyst particle sizes were observed, which further made it difficult to conclude that the slight difference in DOR was due to Zr modification or the trivial distinctions in Co particle size distribution. This, however, is confusing because normally Co/ZrO
2 catalysts show superior DOR as compared to Co/Al
2O
3 catalysts. This is because alumina surfaces were not coated by the Zr. So, it could be concluded that the Cr modification can effectively improve the DOR when it has fully coated the alumina to avoid the presence of alumina sites that can form aluminates during reduction. This explains the somewhat higher DOR shown by the Co/Zr-Al P catalyst in which the catalyst surface had more Zr islands as compared to Co/Zr-Al ME.
Wu et al [
128] have realized with the addition of TiO
2 on the mesoporous silica MS, catalyst reducibility improved i.e., the reduction peaks moved to a lesser temperature. Modification of the support using Zr has shown that indeed Zr impacts the catalyst DOR. It was established that by depositing a bit of Zr, a decline in the intensity of reduction peaks leads to improved DOR. However, with more raise in Zr addition to Co/nTiZr–MS catalysts reduction moved to elevated temperatures which lowered the DOR. Nonetheless, there are inadequate investigations on the synthesis of Co supported on TiO
2–ZrO
2–SiO
2 and the modification impacts of ZrO
2 on the catalyst morphology FT activity.
From this table, Breejen et al [
147] have determined that complete reduction at reduction temperatures of about 450
oC was achieved for both catalysts calcined in air and helium, with and without MnO promotion. However, Smaller crystallite sizes were obtained for MnO promoted catalyst (Mn/Co = 0.08) coupled with a decrease in degree of reduction (62%) which only increased after 2 hours of FTS. The lower DOR may be ascribed to the impeding influence of MnO on the magnitude of reduction. This is in agreement with what was obtained by Morales et al for their catalyst Co/MnO/TiO
2 [
148].
3.2. Effect of Support Modification on Catalyst Particle Size for Fischer Tropsch Synthesis
Promoters on supports have been shown to alter the catalyst support pore size and surface area. The results display that cobalt with increased metal-support strength on silica led to a substantial drop in surface area. This phenomenon is normally justified by the increase in cobalt oxide crystallites inside support pores in the course of catalyst calcination, consequently causing some pore impediment. This is in line with the pore volume results, which displayed a declining size. Adding of promoters including potassium K, ranging over 3% in the supported catalyst, also strengthens this occurrence. Furthermore, the Scherrer equation was applied to approximate the mean Co crystallite sizes. Even though no apparent relation in the data regarding the Co
3O
4 and Co, it looks like the mean crystallite size for CoO declines with rising K loading. It can then be concluded that the addition of potassium regulates the size of Co oxides [
143].
In another work done by Johnson and Bell, the TEM images showed Co particle sizes ranging from 2-20mn for Mn promoted. For loading of Mn/Co = 0.5, there was visible proof of Mn-rich species with a surface diameter larger than quite a few nanometres. The compositions of each nanoparticle were calculated by choosing rounded areas about the Co nanoparticle as well as the neighbouring Mn in the species maps produced by STEM-EDS. As for the Mn/Co atomic ratio, the X-ray totals for Mn and Co were summed and converted for individual quantification areas. It was found that the mean nanoparticle composition was nearly similar to the catalyst containing Mn/Co =0.01 nonetheless catalysts with more promoter amount displayed mean nanoparticle compositions significantly lower as compared to their equivalent bulk compositions [
1].
The Scherrer equation was engaged to compute the mean crystallite sizes of Co
3O
4 as well as the dispersion of Co
0 on the catalyst using the peak of 2θ = 36.9
0. Even though using total crystal sizes is not very accurate, it was convenient for assessment [
149]. The calculated mean crystallite size of Co
3O
4 grew by 48% (i.e., 25 to 37nm) nm concerning increasing Zr promoter, whereas 16 and 18 nm were calculated for Mn and Ca promoted silica supported catalysts respectively. The Co
0 dispersion reduced from 8.3 to 5.8, 7.8, and 3.5% for the corresponding catalysts when Ca, Mn, and Zr promoters were loaded, respectively. These outcomes were in line with the previous studies showing that for silica-supported cobalt catalysts, the Co crystallite sizes increased with increasing Zr [
150]. A minor reduction in the Co
0 dispersion was stated for Co/CNF catalyst promoted with Mn (L. Bezemer, 2006), as well as enhanced Co
3O
4 crystallite size for Co/Al
2O
3 promoted with at least 1% Ca. [
152] Furthermore, Li et al realized that for SiC-supported catalysts, the Co
3O
4 particle sizes were equal to or surpassed the mean pore diameter. This showed that bulk of Co
3O
4 species were situated either on the exterior surface or the support pores entrance. This agrees with the literature previously stated based on the elucidation of the decrease in mean pore size [
141].
In his work, Pardo-Tarifa found out that promoting Zr decreases the SBA-15 and MFC silicas’ pore size and, consequently, the Co
3O
4 crystallite size. This on the other hand leads to strengthened metal-support interaction and low reducibility. Nevertheless, the cobalt dispersions are still higher as compared to the Zr-free promoted catalysts because of the small Co particle sizes [
14].
After reporting the effect of promoter on reduction, Breejen et al. further recorded the effect of MnO on particle size. They found that there is an insignificant change in Co
3O
4 crystallite size for catalysts calcined in air or helium. Nonetheless, a decline in particle size was noted following promotion with a little quantity of MnO (i.e., Mn/Co = 0.06) in comparison with the unpromoted catalyst. Furthermore, they realized that for helium calcined catalysts, however, the particle sizes of the Co/MnO/Pt/SiO
2 catalysts are not affected by the quantity of MnO added, while for air calcinated catalyst particle sizes increased with increasing MnO amount [
147].
3.3. Effect of Support Modification on Catalytic Activity and Product Selectivity for FTS
FTS has been demonstrated to be a process that can effectively convert syngas attained from non-renewable feedstocks such as natural gas and coal, or renewable feedstocks including biomass as well as municipal solid waste to clean chemicals and fuels using a catalyst in the process. The process performance and product selectivity, however, can be enhanced by altering the physicochemical features of the catalyst via such as support and promoter additions and changing process parameters.
FTS product selectivity can be expressed by polymerization kinetics, in which the various chain propagation or termination possibilities can be established for the individual routes i.e.,
. These routes are affected in cooperation with operating environments and catalysts [
153]. Therefore, by creating modifications, the product selectivity will normally be altered due to kinetic effects and/or structural effects [
154].
Furthermore, it was found by Li et al [
141] that FTS activity for catalyst promoted with Mn and Zr, the CO conversion improved by approximately 10% from 71% to 81% and 82% respectively. This was attributed to the weaker Co-SiC interactions introduced via adding additives of Mn or Zr as proved by the hydrogen-TPR & XPS study. As for the product selectivity, based on the weight basis, it was revealed that no CO
2 formation was observed for all promoted catalysts, and this corresponded to the conclusions done by Khodakov et al. [
70]. They also noticed that the Co/Zr/SiC displayed a slight growth in the C
5-C
22 hydrocarbon selectivity in comparison to the non-promoted Co/SiC catalyst that exhibited a product percentage peak mainly at C
12.
Additionally, literature [
28,
36] have shown that the promotion of Mn or Zr enhanced the catalyst activity and long chain hydrocarbon C
5+ production. The increase in the selectivity of C
2-C
4 given by Mn-promoted catalysts agrees with results obtained for Co/MnOx. This further proves that Mn is an efficient support promoter for boosting light olefins production. Consistently, the chain growth alpha value α obtained was equal for non-promoted Co/SiC and promoted Co/Zr/SiC catalyst (α = 0.84) whereas an upper limit α-value for the promoted Co/Mn/SiC catalyst was 0.88. A low CO conversion value of 13% for promoted Co/Ca/SiC catalyst, and elevated lower molecular weight hydrocarbons (i.e., CH
4, C
2-C
4) of nearly 95%, can be tied to the low DOR. This is comparable with the explanation in the literature that states that the low degree of reduction leads to poorer FT performance and higher CH
4 selectivity [
70,
141].
Dinse et al, demonstrated the effect of silica support modification using Mn. They found that it triggers the CO conversion rate to reach a maximum at the ratio of Co/Mn of 0.05. This results are ascribed to the relation linking the impacts of MnO placed onto the supported Co catalyst surface i.e., the enhancement in the FT activity by Co species positioned side by side with MnO and as such leading to the promotional effect of CO dissociation caused by Mn2+ cations with the O atom; once again, the decline in the amount of exposed Co sites, resulting from a rise in the ratio of Co/Mn. Another pattern that developed was realized when reaction pressure was raised to 10 atm. For Mn loading at Mn/Co equals 0.125, the Co intake rate declined. This outcome is assigned to increased stability in CO adsorption, which limits inhibited hydrogenation of CO. They accurately calculated a declining reaction rate as the CO conversion increased at a lower pressure of 1 atm, but could not explain the practical small growth in conversion degree and conversion-independent for the Mn-modified catalyst and un-modified catalyst respectively at the 10 atm.
The product selectivity (C
5+) increased with raising Mn addition in the entire working environment. The olefin-paraffin (O/P) proportion regarding C
2-C
4 segment was superior for Mn addition due to a limitation in paraffin formation and enhancement in the olefin formation, i.e., Mn addition repressed secondary reactions responsible for paraffin formation [
1,
157],
Potassium promotion on SiO
2-promoted Co catalyst was performed by Illoy and Jalama. They realized that potassium addition, especially using a small amount of about 1% will lead to a considerable decline in CO
2 conversion from 39 to 16%, when it is matched to the unpromoted catalyst. Adding more potassium further worsens this performance but with reduced impact. This behaviour could be assigned to (i) K coating of active sites, even though regarded to occur at a little degree due to lower K-loading, (ii) rise in CO
2 adsorption ability i.e., the decline in CO
2 conversion versus K promotion that was also stated by Shi et_al [
8] and Owen et al. [
13] when dealing with CoCu/TiO
2 and Co/SiO
2 catalysts, respectively. They realized that K addition lowers the catalyst H
2 adsorption capability and increases CO
2 adsorption. Furthermore, an above 1% addition of K was found to cause an extra drop in CH
4 selectivity plus improvement in CO selectivity. On the other, while increasing the K loading, the C
2+ hydrocarbons lessened when compared to loading of less than 1% potassium. At K lower loading, the C
2+ increase can be credited to a declined surface H/C ratio. This means that the carbon-containing elements from CO
2 dissociation will polymerize instead of being hydrogenated which is a norm in a hydrogen-rich reaction [
143].
Table 4.
Summary of modified catalysts and/or supports and corresponding influences on C5+selectivity.
Table 4.
Summary of modified catalysts and/or supports and corresponding influences on C5+selectivity.
Catalysts |
Conversion (%) |
Main Product |
Selectivity (%) |
Ref. |
|
|
|
|
|
12%Co/γ-Al2O3
|
45 |
C5+
|
80 |
Enger et al., 2011 [154] |
12%Co-0.5%Re/γ-Al2O3
|
45 |
C5+
|
83.1 |
Enger et al., 2011 [154] |
12%Co-0.5%Re/5%Mg-γ-Al2O3
|
45 |
C5+
|
81.8 |
Enger et al., 2011 [154] |
12%Co-0.5%Re/5%Zn-γ-Al2O3
|
45 |
C5+
|
82.5 |
Enger et al., 2011 [154] |
|
|
|
|
|
9.3%Co/TiO2
|
29.2 |
C5+
|
85 |
Eschemann, Oenema, & De Jong, 2016 [158] |
9.0%Co-0.12%Ag/TiO2
|
33.0 |
C5+
|
89 |
Eschemann, Oenema, & De Jong, 2016 [158] |
8.9%Co-0.11%Pt/TiO2
|
30.4 |
C5+
|
83 |
Eschemann, Oenema, & De Jong, 2016 [158] |
9.4%Co-0.25Re%/TiO2
|
33.1 |
C5+
|
88 |
Eschemann, Oenema, & De Jong, 2016 [158] |
|
|
|
|
|
15%Co/SiC |
71 |
C5+
|
80 |
Li, Wu, & Wu, 2017b [159] |
15%Co-5%Zr/SiC |
82 |
C5+
|
81 |
Li et al., 2017b [159] |
15%Co-5%Ca/SiC |
81 |
C5+
|
82 |
Li et al., 2017b [159] |
|
|
|
|
|
10%Co/SiO2
|
41.7 |
C5+
|
82.5 |
Wu, Yang, Suo, Qing, Yan, Wu, et al., 2015 [146] |
10%Co/TiO2-SiO2
|
85.9 |
C5+
|
85.6 |
Wu, Yang, Suo, Qing, Yan, Wu, et al., 2015 [146] |
10%Co/TiO2-ZrO2-SiO2
|
80.3 |
C5+
|
75.4 |
Wu, Yang, Suo, Qing, Yan, Wu, et al., 2015 [146] |
|
|
|
|
|
20%Co-0.1wt.%Pt/ZSM-5 |
26.8 |
C12+
|
52.2 |
Subramanian et al., 2016 [160] |
20%Co-0.1%Pt/ZSM-5 |
27 |
C12+
|
52.0 |
Subramanian et al., 2016 [160] |
20%Co-0.1wtPt/SiO2-ZSM-5 |
26.4 |
C12+
|
60.5 |
Subramanian et al., 2016 [160] |
20%Co-0.1wtPt/MOR |
40 |
C12+
|
60.9 |
Subramanian et al., 2016 [160] |
Enger and co-workers illustrated the product selectivity (C
5+) at 50% CO conversion for the catalyst loaded with 12 wt% Co. To obtain a constructive effect of catalyst modification using Re, a comparison was done for similar γ-A
2O
3 supports. For the catalyst modified by adding Mg or Zn, it was realized that the heavy hydrocarbon selectivity is dependent on the amount of modifier added as well as the procedure that was used to load Mg or Zn (whether on the support followed by calcination at a temperature of >900
0C, before impregnating with Co-Re precursor or simultaneous impregnation with Co and Re on the support. Note that, there may be optimal crystallite sizes for the definite Co/Re ratio, in which one can achieve the highest C
5+ selectivity due to modification using Re on the catalysts, in which modification of Co using Re generates the highest C
5+ selectivity. The improvement in the C
5+ fraction could be ascribed to the insertion and re-adsorption into the expanding hydrocarbon chain [
133].
Depending on the preparation procedure, variations in olefin-paraffin (o/p) were observed stretching from 1.3 on unpromoted α-Al
2O
3, possibly indicating a greater degree of re-adsorption to 2.1 on the Zn- and Mg-modified catalysts, conceivably implying limitations of re-adsorption. There was no relationship between the Mg or Zn modified catalysts for o/p ratios of C
3 and C
4 whereas for C
5 and C
6 a noticeable increase was found for increase Mg addition. An opposite correlation was found for co-precipitated Re and Zn on the support before calcinating that catalyst at high temperatures [
154].
As for Eschemann et al, they carried FTS at 493 K, 20 Bar and recorded almost similar CO conversion ranging between 29.0 to 33.1 for all catalysts. The findings indicated that for the unprompted catalyst, a cobalt-time yield (CTY) of 6.5*10
-5 mol
CO/g
CoS coupled with C
5+ formation of 85 wt.%. With Ag additives, it was found that the CTY improved to about 12*10
-5 mol
CO/g
CoS whereas the C
5+ formation considerably increased to 89 wt.%. Enhancement in the catalyst activity was retrieved for Pt loaded catalyst, with an optimal loading realized at 0.21 wt.% Pt. The catalyst performance benefit, however, came with a decrease in C
5+ selectivity of 83 wt.%. Hydrogenolysis and methanation reactions have been thought to have led to this decline. Moreover, the turnover frequency (TOF) for catalysts loaded with Pt, or Re were established to have gone up by a factor of 2 above that of unpromoted catalyst, but no significant effect was found for Ag-promoted catalyst [
158].
3.4. Effects of Preparation on Activity and Product Selectivity
Catalysts preparation, the underlying/core configuration of the designed catalysts plus the resultant catalytic activity go together in catalysis. The preparation technique decides the structure of the catalyst and, accordingly, is vital for such catalyst’s application. It has been realized that a small change in the catalyst synthesis procedure might poses a substantial effect on the outcome of such a catalyst concerning catalyst structures, consequently having noteworthy differences in catalytic activity and selectivity, [
161]. To further emphasize the importance of the catalyst preparation method, more latest experiments by Ai et al. utilizing tungsten-doped Ni/Al
2O
3 catalysts, has shown that in CO methanation the addition of tungsten enhances reducibility and accordingly improves the number of active sites as well process performance but only when the appropriate preparation procedure is used [
162].
Impregnation is one of the commonly utilized methods in the formulation of industrial catalysts. In this case, the primary metal precursor is spread on supports such as silica, titania, alumina, or carbon. Next is drying followed by calcination in nitrogen or air to get a catalyst synthesized by the impregnation method. Oxides support has been identified to be ideal for such catalysts because of their higher surface area and is ideal for stabilizing metal crystallites as well as boosting the mechanical intensity of the formed catalysts. Alternatively, the precipitation method of catalyst synthesis may be used to place the metal catalyst on the support. This is done by putting the appropriate precipitator into the metal precursor solution, which is then dried and calcined. In this preparation method, regulating and monitoring the pH and temperature is key to obtaining a well-defined nanostructured catalyst [
163].
Moreover, inverse models [
164,
165], whereby the support precursor is placed on the active metal catalyst (or its precursor), can be utilized as a way of differentiating the effect at the MSI interface as well as the variations in morphology and reducibility. Petersen and company [
165] have demonstrated that when a certain amount of the support precursor (in alkoxide form) is loaded on the metallic cobalt precursor, it leads to the development of nano-sized islands mimicking support-like structures on the active cobalt phase. The importance of controlling these small islands on the active metal phase may simulate MSI, hence providing insights into the influence brought by MSI regarding the performance of the metal active phase [
165].
A variety of FTS catalyst modifications have been developed for the manufacture of alcohol, with the Cu–Co bimetallic catalyst being widely used for the generation of mixed alcohols from syngas[
166,
167,
168]. Nevertheless, the products of this catalyst have a negligible C
6+OH proportion [
169,
170,
171]. Professor Ding invented a series of cobalt catalysts that are supported by activated carbon and are used to create mixed higher alcohols that have a greater concentration of C6+OH. Pei et al. [
172] discovered that although activated carbon-supported cobalt catalysts normally had low activity, adding the right amount of silica to the modification increased both activity and alcohol selectivity. Liu and colleagues observed that the addition of silica species to CuZnAl catalysts enhanced the selectivity of alcohols. While silica is commonly used to directly assist cobalt catalysts in the catalytic conversion of syngas to hydrocarbons with a higher carbon number, these silica-supported cobalt catalysts often exhibit relatively higher catalytic performance but reduced alcohols formation. Recently, Dai et al. [
174] reported a 12.7% alcohols selectivity over a sodium-promoted Co/SiO
2 catalyst at increased temperatures, while Ribeiro et al. [
173] attained a 10.5% alcohols selectivity at 22.7% CO conversion over LaOx-promoted Co/SiO
2 catalysts. Sodium addition, however, resulted in a drop in CO conversion, suggesting a trade-off between the selectivity of alcohol and activity loss. In light of these discoveries, cobalt catalysts backed by modified silica have been developed to produce mixed alcohols with enhanced activity and selectivity in addition to premium liquid fuels.
Hong Du and colleagues [
50] synthesised a single-metal cobalt catalyst (Co/SiO
2-EOAM) by impregnation, using silica pellets modified with ethanolamine as a support for syngas conversion. During catalyst calcination, the combustion of carbon and nitrogen species improved cobalt dispersion while impeding cobalt oxide reduction by promoting cobalt-support contact. The activity and selectivity of the (Co/SiO
2-EOAM) catalyst towards alcohols were much higher than those of the unmodified silica-supported cobalt catalysts (Co/SiO
2). The enhanced dispersion of cobalt was credited with this increased activity, and the abundance of metallic cobalt and Co
2+ atoms enhanced the selectivity towards alcohols.
5.0. Conclusions
Several metals especially from groups 8-10, mainly Fe, Co, or Ni, can aid carbon monoxide and hydrogen adsorption and dissociation, therefore ideal metals for FT catalysts. Owing to its insignificant water-gas shift activity, better stability, plus higher selectivity towards higher hydrocarbons, cobalt has been widely used for FTS. An optimal number of cobalt nanoparticles must be finely spread on the support to enhance catalyst performance and selectivity towards liquid hydrocarbons. However, the effectiveness of the catalyst with respect to activity and product formation is dependent on the support type and the promoter, as well as the preparation method. Therefore, catalyst support selection is an important factor, i.e., support with superior surface area, optimum pore diameter, and well-definite surface chemistry, because such features can substantially modify the catalyst’s activity. As already been stated, active metals are spread on oxides to enhance the surface area of such metals, and subsequently the quantity of active sites. Nevertheless, an optimum contact within the two (oxide and metal) is required to obtain vastly active metal distribution with the best possible strong metal-oxide contact. Lack of optimum metal-oxide interaction has detrimental effects on the entire features of the catalyst that may lead to poor reducibility and or even poor performance due to inactivity. The preparation technique decides the structure of the catalyst and, accordingly, is vital for such catalyst’s application. It has been realized that a small change in the catalyst synthesis might have a substantial effect on the outcome of such a catalyst regarding catalyst structures and, consequently, have noteworthy differences in catalytic activity and selectivity.
This article further stresses the importance of support modification particularly the reverse model which has the potential to over challenges such as coverage of active metal species and pore blockages by promoters during the preparation of conventional supported catalysts. This modern catalyst synthesis technique can provide an effective substitute for nanoparticle preparation with optimum and relevant particle size distributions for ultimate catalytic research specifically for structure-dependent FTS catalysis studies.