Fischer Tropsch and Water Gas Shift chemical regimes on supported iron-based catalysts at high metal loading

Iron-based catalysts supported on silica for CO hydrogenation with high amounts of metal (10–50%wt) have been prepared, characterized by BET and SEM and tested. CO conversion and yield to hydrocarbons increase with iron content in catalysts. Depending on the operative conditions Water Gas Shift (WGS) becomes a competitive reaction towards Fischer Tropsch (FT) synthesis. The activation energies values highlight the presence of two different chemical regimes. In particular, for 483 < T < 533 K, FT is the main reaction while for 543 < T < 583 K the formation of CO2 by WGS becomes the predominant reaction.