Fischer–Tropsch synthesis on mono- and bimetallic Co and Fe catalysts supported on carbon nanotubes

An extensive study of Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) on carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-supported bimetallic cobalt/iron catalysts is reported. Up to 4 wt.% of iron is added to the 10 wt.% Co/CNT catalyst by co-impregnation. The physico-chemical properties, FTS activity and selectivity of the bimetallic catalysts were analyzed and compared with those of 10 wt.% monometallic cobalt and iron catalysts at similar operating conditions (H 2/CO = 2:1 molar ratio, P = 2 MPa and T = 220 °C). The metal particles were distributed inside the tubes and the rest on the outer surface of the CNTs. For iron loadings higher than 2 wt.%, Co–Fe alloy was revealed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. 0.5 wt.% of Fe enhanced the reducibility and dispersion of the cobalt catalyst by 19 and 32.8%, respectively. Among the catalysts studied, cobalt catalyst with 0.5% Fe showed the highest FTS reaction rate and percentage CO conversion. The monometallic iron catalyst showed the minimum FTS and maximum water–gas shift (WGS) rates. The monometallic cobalt catalyst exhibited high selectivity (85.1%) toward C 5+ liquid hydrocarbons, while addition of small amounts of iron did not significantly change the product selectivity. Monometallic iron catalyst showed the lowest selectivity for 46.7% to C 5+ hydrocarbons. The olefin to paraffin ratio in the FTS products increased with the addition of iron, and monometallic iron catalyst exhibited maximum olefin to paraffin ratio of 1.95. The bimetallic Co–Fe/CNT catalysts proved to be attractive in terms of alcohol formation. The introduction of 4 wt.% iron in the cobalt catalyst increased the alcohol selectivity from 2.3 to 26.3%. The Co–Fe alloys appear to be responsible for the high selectivity toward alcohol formation.