Synthesis of light hydrocarbons over Fe/AC catalysts

A series of Fe/AC catalysts for catalytic hydrogenation of CO to light hydrocarbons (LHCs) were prepared by decomposing Fe(CO)5 in an autoclave. The catalysts activities were tested in a high-pressure micro reactor. The results show that both CO conversion and LHCs selectivity were significantly affected by the amount of Fe loaded onto the catalysts. The optimum Fe content was determined to be 10% by weight of the catalyst. Over the corresponding catalyst (i.e., 10% Fe/C catalyst), the conversion of CO and the selectivity of LHCs were 94.8% and 59.2%, respectively, at 360 °C. Based on various catalyst characterization techniques, such as XRD, BET and SEM, the catalysts surface areas and pore volume decreased and the smaller particles agglomerated at the edges and corners in the outer region of the support with the increasing Fe content. The agglomerated particles increased greatly when the iron content of the catalyst was higher than 10%. The decrease of catalyst activity can be due to the agglomerated particles.