Influence of sucrose addition and acid treatment of silica-supported Co-Ru catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis

This article highlights the formulation and evaluation of Co-Ru catalysts on silica used in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. An acid treatment of the support associated with the addition of sucrose as a chelating agent was employed. The six formulated catalytic systems were characterized (TG, XRD, N2 adsorption, H2-TPR, H2 chemisorption) and evaluated in a fixed bed tubular reactor (H2/CO:2:1, 2 MPa, space velocity 4.5 × 10−2 LN.gcat−1·h−1) at five different temperatures (185 °C, 200 °C, 215 °C, 230 °C, 260 °C). The combination of both methods enhanced the cobalt dispersion, which is accompanied by an increase in C5+ hydrocarbon productivity. However, an optimum acid treatment is required to avoid large cobalt particle formation that leads to low CO conversion.