Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10239382 | Applied Catalysis A: General | 2005 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
Cobalt catalysts supported on silica aerogel have been prepared using sol-gel chemistry followed by drying under supercritical ethanol conditions. Three different loadings of cobalt were synthesized: 2, 6, and 10% by weight. Transmission electron micrographs indicate that the metallic cobalt exists as discrete particles 50-70Â nm in diameter for the 2 and 6% loadings. The 10% catalyst shows long needles of cobalt. BET and BJH measurements indicate that the catalysts retain the silica aerogel properties of high surface area (â¼800Â m2/g), large pore volume (â¼5Â cm3/g), and an average pore diameter in the mesoporous regime (â¼25Â nm). The catalysts were evaluated for Fischer-Tropsch activity in a laboratory-scale packed bed reactor. All three catalysts were active with the 10% Co catalyst achieving more than 20% CO conversion which corresponds to a rate of 1.53Â g CO per g-cat per hour. The catalysts were selective for the C10+ hydrocarbons with more than 50% of the carbon contained within this fraction. A significant portion of the C9-C15 hydrocarbon product was observed as 1-olefins which reflects the enhanced mass transport within the very porous aerogel support.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Catalysis
Authors
Brian C. Dunn, Paul Cole, Daniel Covington, Matthew C. Webster, Ronald J. Pugmire, Richard D. Ernst, Edward M. Eyring, Naresh Shah, Gerald P. Huffman,