TITLE: Development of a stable cobalt-ruthenium Fisher-Tropsch catalyst. Final report.

AUTHOR: R. R. Frame;   H. B. Gala.

INST.  AUTHOR: UOP, Inc., Des Plaines, IL.

SPONSOR: Department of Energy, Washington, DC.

LANGUAGE: English

PUB.  TYPE: Technical Report

PUB.  COUNTRY: United States

SOURCE: Department of Energy [DE],  Feb 95,  222p.

NTIS ORDER NO.: DE95009355INW

ABSTRACT:

The reverse micelle catalyst preparation method has been used to prepare catalysts on four supports: magnesium oxide, carbon, alumina- titania and steamed Y zeolite. These catalysts were not as active as a reference catalyst prepared during previous contracts to Union Carbide Corp. This catalyst was supported on steamed Y zerolite support and was impregnated by a pore-filling method using a nonaqueous solvent. Additional catalysts were prepared via pore- filling impregnation of steamed Y zeolites. These catalysts had levels of cobalt two to three and a half times as high as the original Union Carbide catalyst. On a catalyst volume basis they were much more active than the previous catalyst; on an atom by atom basis the cobalt was about of the same activity, i.e., the high cobalt catalysts' cobalt atoms were not extensively covered over and deactivated by other cobalt atoms. The new, high activity, Y zerolite catalysts were not as stable as the earlier Union Carbide catalyst. However, stability enhancement of these catalysts should be possible, for instance, through adjustment of the quantity and/or type of trace metals present. A primary objective of this work was determination whether small amounts of ruthenium could enhance the activity of the cobalt F-T catalyst. The reverse micelle catalysts were not activated by ruthenium, indeed scanning transmission electronic microscopy (STEM) analysis provided some evidence that ruthenium was not present in the cobalt crystallites. Ruthenium did not seem to activate the high cobalt Y zeolite catalyst either, but additional experiments with Y zeolite-supported catalysts are required.  Should ruthenium prove not to be an effective promoter under the simple catalyst activation procedure used in this work, more complex activation procedures have been reported which are claimed to enhance the cobalt/ruthenium interaction and result in activity promotion by ruthenium.

REPORT  NUMBER: DOE/PC/91057-T9

CONTRACT  NUMBER: AC22-91PC91057