Mixed alcohols synthesis from syngas over activated palygorskite supported Cu–Fe–Co based catalysts

• Palygorskite supported Cu–Fe–Co based catalyst was applied to alcohols synthesis.
• The structure and morphology of palygorskite were improved by H2SO4 activation.
• Cu–FeCx dual site was highly dispersed on surface of Pal-B21 support.
• The CuFeCoK/Pal-B21 catalyst showed excellent catalytic performances.

Conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to liquid fuels through the synthesis gas (syngas) intermediate product will become an important route for production of clean fuel in the future. In this work, H2SO4-activated palygorskite (Pal) supported Cu–Fe–Co based catalysts were prepared by an impregnation method and applied to mixed alcohols synthesis (MAS) from syngas. The structural properties of those catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption/desorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and H2-Temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR). The CFCK/Pal-B21 catalyst exhibited better catalytic activity, yield and selectivity for mixed alcohols due to the high surface concentration of Cu–FeCx dual site and the ideal interaction between Cu and Fe species. Due to the unique property and the low cost and easy availability, the Pal clay has a great promise to be used as catalyst support for liquid biofuel production from biomass-derived syngas.

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