Performance of Fe–Cr based WGS catalysts prepared by co-precipitation and oxi-precipitation methods

In this work the performance of Fe–Cr based WGS catalysts synthesized following two different methods (co-precipitation and oxy-precipitation) is studied under a wide range of operating conditions. A commercial Fe–Cr based WGS catalyst is used for comparison.The activity of the catalysts has been studied on simulated gases under conditions typical of oxygen pressurized gasification. The influence of main operating parameters, including temperature, space velocity and excess steam is evaluated in terms of hydrogen production and CO conversion. Catalytic performance has been evaluated from 200 °C to 500 °C, using gas space velocities between 2885 and 10000 h−1 and steam to carbon monoxide ratios from 2 to 6.7. According to the results obtained in this work, the oxy-precipitation method has provided a suitable approach to synthesize highly active Fe–Cr based WGS catalysts.