Design of efficient Fischer Tropsch cobalt catalysts via plasma enhancement: Reducibility and performance (Review)

• The plasma enhanced cobalt dispersion, while nano cobalt particle size was smaller.
• The Pt or Ru additive enhanced significantly the reducibility of cobalt catalyst.
• The synergism of plasma and promoter enhanced the reduction and performance.
• Plasma-assisted promoted cobalt catalyst exhibited a much higher FT performance.

In this paper, several types of plasma enhanced catalysts for Fischer Tropsch (FT) synthesis were investigated and discussed, in comparison of conventional catalysts, with different carriers [alumina, silica, carbon nanotubes (CNTs)], and/or different promoters (Pt, Ru), etc. For the silica-supported cobalt FT catalysts, the cobalt dispersion was significantly enhanced by plasma treatment. Nano cobalt particle size was smaller when the glow discharge plasma intensity was higher. There were similar cases for the Ru promoted FT catalysts or alumina supported FT catalysts. For the alumina supported cobalt FT catalysts, Pt addition enhanced significantly the catalysts reduction. Due to the combination of higher cobalt dispersion and optimized cobalt reducibility, plasma-assisted promoted catalysts exhibited an enhanced activity in FT synthesis.

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