14C-Labeled Alcohol Tracer Study: Comparison of Reactivity of Alcohols over Cobalt and Ruthenium Fischer–Tropsch Catalysts

The reactivity of 14 C-labeled ethanol (CH 3 14 CH 2 OH) and 1-propanol (CH 3 CH 2 14 CH 2 OH) added during Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) was studied in a continuous-flow well-stirred reactor operated at 220 °C and 18.7 atm using a supported cobalt or ruthenium catalyst. The added labeled alcohols are mostly found in the product gas and water phase (≥99 %) without being involved in any reaction over both fcc and hcp metallic cobalt. The data indicate that C–O bond of ethanol and 1-propanol remains mostly stable on cobalt under FTS conditions. However, 1-propanol is likely to be involved in a chain initiation after decarbonylation apart from being degraded into methanol on ruthenium.