Synthesis and Performance of Mesoporous Phosphotungstic Acid/Alumina Composite as a Novel Oxidative Desulfurization Catalyst

A series of mesoporous phosphotungstic acid/alumina composites （HPW/Al_2O_3） with various HPW contents were synthesized by evaporation-induced self-assembly method. These composites were characterized by nitrogen adsorption-desorption, TEM, FTIR, and UV-vis, and were tested as catalysts in oxidation desulfurization of model fuel composed of dibenzothiophene （DBT） and hydrocarbon, using H202 as the oxidant. These composites exhibited high activity in catalytic oxidation of DBT in model fuel and good reusing ability. The best performance was achieved by using the mesoporous HPW/Al_2O_3 with 15wt% HPW content, which resulted in a DBT conversion of 98% after 2 h reaction at 343 K, and it did not show significant activity degradation after 3 recycles. Characterization results showed that the mesoporous structure of alumina and the Keggin structure of HPW were preserved in the formed composite. These results suggested that HPW/ Al_2O_3 could be a promising catalyst in oxidative desulfurization process.

Hydrothermal treatment of metallic-monolith catalyst support with self-growing porous anodic-alumina film

Metallic-monolith catalyst support with self-growing porous anodic alumina(PAA)film was prepared by anodizing Al plate.The effect of hydrothermal treatment(HTT)on the crystalline state and textural properties of PAA film was investigated by XRD,BET,SEM and TG.The HTT treatment above 50°C and the subsequent calcination above 300°C could convert the amorphous skeleton alumina intoγ-alumina and increase the specific surface area(SBET).However,SEM images showed the HTT modification was a non-uniform process along the thickness of PAA film.The promotion effect of HTT on SBETwas non-linear,and the slope of SBETgradually decreased with the HTT temperature or time increased.The limited HTT effect should be attributed to a changed pore structure caused by an unfavorable pore sealing limitation.Pore widening treatment(PWT)before HTT could break the pore sealing limitation,because of the reduced internal diffusion resistance of hydrothermal reaction.The synergistic combination of PWT and HTT developed a PAA support with a large SBETcomparable to commercialγ-alumina.In the catalytic combustion of toluene,the Pt-based catalyst prepared by using the PWT and HTT comodified PAA support gave higher Pt dispersion and more favorable catalytic activity than that treated by HTT alone.The presence of a bimodal pore structure was suggested to be a decisive reason.

Preparation of Alumina Abrasion-Resistant Ceramic Grinding Ball with Spent FCC Equilibrium Catalyst

The chemical composition, structure and thermal stability of the spent FCC equilibrium catalyst from an oil refinery were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, DTA-TG, BET, complete chemical analysis, SEM, and XRF. The spent FCC equilibrium catalyst, clay, barium carbonate, and talc were used as the main raw materials to prepare the alumina abrasion-resistant ceramic balls to be used in the powder grinding mill for manufacture of architecture tiles. The results showed that after proper formulation study, the spent FCC equilibrium catalyst could replace industrial alumina to prepare high performance grinding balls. Meanwhile, the various performance indices of the grinding ball could meet the quality standard for similar products, and additionally, the energy saving effect was achieved in the operation of the grinding section, resulting in a successful comprehensive utilization of solid wastes.

Synthesis and characterization of multiwall carbon nanotubes/alumina nanohybrid-supported cobalt catalyst in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis

Multiwall carbon nanotubes （MWNTs） and alumina are combined to give a new type of nanohybrid for Fisher-Tropsch synthesis （FTS） catalyst support. Alumina nano-particles （10 wt%） were introduced directly on functionalized MWNTs by a modified sol-gel method. Microstructure observations show that alumina particles were homogeneously dispersed on the inside and outside of modified MWNTs surfaces. 15 wt% cobalt loading catalysts were prepared with this nanohybrid and γ-alumina as a reference, using a sol-gel technique and wet impregnation method respectively. These catalysts were characterized by TEM, XRD, N2-adsorption, H2 chemisorption and TPR. The deposition of cobalt nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel technique on the MWNTs nanohybrid shift the reduction peaks to a low temperature, indicating higher reducibility for uniform cobalt particles. Nanohybrid also aided in high dispersion of metal clusters and high stability and performance of catalyst. The proposed MWNTs nanohybrid-supported cobalt catalysts showed the improved FTS rate （gHc/（gcat.min））, CO conversion （%）, and water gas shift rate （WGS）（gcoz/（gcat.h）） of 0.012, 52, and 30E-3, respectively, as compared to those of 0.007, 25, and 18E-3, respectively, on the γ-alumina-supported cobalt catalysts with the same Co loading.

Solvent-free synthesis of alumina supported cobalt catalysts for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

A novel mechano-synthesis method has been elaborated in this work for the design of efficient cobalt-based Fischer–Tropsch catalysts. The process aims to reduce the total number of steps involved in the synthesis of solid catalysts and thus to avoid relevant toxic solutions generated during the catalyst preparation. The mechano-synthesis of the Co/Al2O3catalyst was processed in a low-energy vibratory micro mill and high energy planetary ball mill. Porous spherical γ-aluminas (1860 µm and 71 µm mean particle diameter) were used in this work as host compounds. Co3O4(3 µm mean particle diameter) has provided guest particles for mechano-synthesis. The catalysts were characterized by textural (surface area, porosity and particle size) and structural analyses (X-ray diffraction, TPR, SEM-EDX and microprobe). The microprobe images show deposition of Co3O4on the surface of the alumina and indicated no Co3O4diffusion inside the alumina pores. SEM-EDX mapping illustrated that cobalt coating tended to occur on surface of rounded shape of cracked alumina fragments. After milling, the crystallite size of Co3O4decreased to 15 nm from 30 to 50 nm. The TPR profiles indicated very low concentrations of inactive cobalt aluminate mixed compounds which are usually produced during the catalyst preparation by impregnation. In Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, the catalysts prepared using mechano-synthesis methods showed catalytic performance comparable to the catalysts prepared by impregnation. © 2016 Science Press

Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis over Alumina- Supported Cobalt-Based Catalysts: Effect of Support Variables

Different kinds of aluminum precursors were obtained from precipitating ammonium bicarbonate, ammonium carbonate, and saturated ammonium bicarbonate, then, boehmite (AlO(OH)), ammonium alumina carbonate hydroxide (AACH) and their mixture were obtained, and then, different kinds of alumina were obtained after calcination. Three catalysts supported on the different alumina were obtained via impregnating cobalt and ruthenium by incipient wetness. The effects of different precipitants on composition of precursors were?studied by XRD, FTIR, and TGA. The property and structure of alumina were studied by XRD and BET. The supported catalysts were studied by characterizations of XRD and H2-TPR, and the catalytic performance for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) were evaluated at a fix-bed reactor. The relations among the composition of precursors, the property of alumina and the catalytic performance of supported catalysts were researched thoroughly.

Simultaneous operation of dibenzothiophene hydrodesulfurization and methanol reforming reactions over Pd promoted alumina based catalysts

In the current study simultaneous reactions of hydrodesulfurization(HDS) of dibenzothiophene(DBT) and reforming of methanol in a micro-autoclave reactor were studied over bi-metallic(Co-Mo/Al2O3 and Ni-Mo/Al2O3) and tri-metallic(Pd-Co-Mo/Al2O3 and Pd-Ni-Mo/Al2O3) catalyst systems which were prepared by incipient impregnation method.In situ hydrogen utilization and low Pd loadings were the major targets of this study.For comparison purpose,catalytic activity was separately determined for both the methanol reforming and HDS of DBT reactions as well.Ni based catalysts were confirmed with better activity than Co ones for both the reactions with Pd promoted ones ranking at the top i.e.Pd-Ni-Mo/Al2O3 > Ni-Mo/Al2O3 > Pd-Co-Mo/Al2O3 > Co-Mo/Al2O3 where Pd-Ni-Mo/Al2O3 showed 91% DBT conversion at 380 ℃ and 12 h reaction time.Some of the selected organic additives on catalytic activity were tested for their effect toward HDS reaction which was unique with close relation to their chemical nature.Reaction products were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed via HPLC and GC-MS techniques respectively which helped in elucidating reaction mechanism.

Cobalt supported on CNTs-covered γ-and nano-structured alumina catalysts utilized for wax selective Fischer-Tropsch synthesis

Cobalt supported on carbon nanotubes （CNTs）-covered alumina has been recently developed and successfully utilized as a catalyst in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis （FTS）. Problems associated with shaping of Co/CNTs into extrudates or pellets as well as catalyst attrition rendered these materials unfavorable for industrial applications. In this investigation regular γ- and nano-structured （N-S） alumina as well as CNTs-covered regular γ- and N-S-alumina supports were impregnated by cobalt nitrate solution to make new cobalt-based catalysts which were also promoted by Ru. The catalysts were characterized and tested in a micro reactor to evaluate their applicability in FTS. γ-Al2O3 was prepared by calcination of bohemite and N-S-Al2O3 was prepared by sol-gel method using aluminum chloride as starting material. Catalyst evaluations indicated that N-S-Al2O3 was superior to regular γ-Al2O3 and that CNTs-covered alumina supports were favored over non-covered ones in terms of activity and heavy hydrocarbon selectivity. These were justified by porosimetric characteristics of the catalysts and existence of CNTs points of view. CNTs-covered catalysts also showed higher wax selectivity and better resistance to deactivation. Furthermore, TPR analysis indicated that the cobalt aluminate phase, which is responsible for the permanent deactivation of alumina supported Co-based catalysts, did not form on alumina supported Co-based catalysts covered with CNTs due to weaker interactions between cobalt and alumina.

Methane Dry Reforming over Alumina Supported Co Catalysts

A series of Co/γ-Al_2O_3 catalysts were prepared with the impregnation method and characterized by means of the BET specific surface area, X-ray diffraction(XRD), thermogravimetric analysis(TGA) and Laser Raman spectroscopy. The Co/γ-Al_2O_3 catalysts were activated by using H_2, 20%CH_4/H_2 or CH_4, respectively. There was no obvious difference between the activities of the Co/γ-Al_2O_3 catalyst activated by using the different activation methods for methane dry reforming. The catalytic properties of the Co/γ-Al_2O_3 catalysts with different Co loadings were also investigated. The optimized Co loading for the Co/γ-Al_2O_3 catalyst pretreated with 20% CH_4/H_2 is around 12%(mass fraction).

An Experimental Study of the Performance of Isomorphically Zirconium-Substituted Mesoporous Alumina Supported Cobalt Catalysts in Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis

A series of mesoporous alumina (MA) supported cobalt (Co/MA) catalysts with MA isomorphically substituted by zirconium (Zr) were synthesised and evaluated for their performance in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The Zr/(Zr + Al) atomic ratios varied from 1% - 15%. A zirconium-impregnated Co/MA catalyst prepared by wet impregnation with a Zr/(Zr + Al) atomic ratio of 5% was also evaluated to examine Zr incorporation’s effect method. The catalysts synthesised were characterised using N2 adsorption-desorption, X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that Zr4+ ions were incorporated into the framework of MA and kept intact up to a Zr/(Zr + Al) atomic ratio of 5%. The cobalt dispersion and reducibility were improved as the Zr/(Zr + Al) atomic ratio increased to 50%. The performance of these catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis was evaluated using a fixed bed reactor at temperature and pressure of 493 K and 20 bar, respectively. The feed syngas had an H2/CO ratio of 2, diluted with 10% Ar. For isomorphically Zr-substituted Co/MA, the CO conversion and selectivity of diesel (C10 - C20) increased first and then decreased with increasing the Zr/(Zr + Al) atomic ratio. The maximum 38.9% CO conversion and 34.6% diesel (C10 - C20) selectivity were obtained at Zr/(Zr + Al) atomic ratio of 5%. The isomorphic substitution method was better than the wet impregnation method in CO conversion and diesel selectivity.

Facile molybdenum and aluminum recovery from spent hydrogenation catalyst

Industrial catalyst waste has emerged as a hazardous pollutant that requires safe and proper disposal after the unloading process.Finding a valuable and sustainable strategy for its treatment is a significant challenge compared to traditional methods.In this study,we present a facile method for the recovery of molybdenum and aluminum contents from spent Mo-Ni/Al_(2)O_(3) hydrogenation catalysts through crystallization separation and coprecipitation.Furthermore,the recovered molybdenum and aluminum are utilized as active metals and carriers for the preparation of new catalysts.Their properties were thoroughly analyzed and investigated using various characterization techniques.The hydrogenation activity of these newly prepared catalysts was evaluated on a fixed-bed small-scale device and compared with a reference catalyst synthesized from commercial raw reagents.Finally,the hydrogenation activity of the catalysts was further assessed by using the entire distillate oil of coal liquefaction as the raw oil,specifically focusing on denitrogenation and aromatic saturation.This work not only offers an effective solution for recycling catalysts but also promotes sustainable development.

Promotion Effects of Ceria on Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis Performance of Co/Al_2O_3 Catalyst

The addition of small amounts of ceria to Co/Al2O3 catalysts increases the turnover rate of the catalyst and C5+ selectivity in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. In this work, the amounts of ceria, the calcination temperature, the temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), the temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO), and XRD are investigated. The results show that the addition of small amounts of ceria to Co/Al2O3 catalyst (Ce/Co≈1∶ 10 ～1∶ 7, atom) can increase the CO conversion and liquid yield, while the calcination temperature can control both the chain growth probability and CO conversion in a reverse trend. The TPR and TPO experiments show that small amounts of Ceria can improve the reducibility, but the amounts of carbon deposit increase, and two-type carbon deposition is found in the short-term reaction catalyst.

Ni/Al_2O_3 catalysts for CO methanation: Effect of Al_2O_3 supports calcined at different temperatures

The correlation between phase structures and surface acidity of Al2O3 supports calcined at different temperatures and the catalytic performance of Ni/Al2O3 catalysts in the production of synthetic natural gas(SNG) via CO methanation was systematically investigated. A series of 10 wt% NiO/Al2O3 catalysts were prepared by the conventional impregnation method, and the phase structures and surface acidity of Al2O3 supports were adjusted by calcining the commercial γ-Al2O3 at different temperatures(600–1200 C). CO methanation reaction was carried out in the temperature range of 300–600 C at different weight hourly space velocities(WHSV = 30000 and 120000 mL·g-1h-1) and pressures(0.1 and 3.0 MPa). It was found that high calcination temperature not only led to the growth in Ni particle size, but also weakened the interaction between Ni nanoparticles and Al2O3 supports due to the rapid decrease of the specific surface area and acidity of Al2O3 supports. Interestingly, Ni catalysts supported on Al2O3 calcined at 1200 C(Ni/Al2O3-1200) exhibited the best catalytic activity for CO methanation under different reaction conditions. Lifetime reaction tests also indicated that Ni/Al2O3-1200 was the most active and stable catalyst compared with the other three catalysts, whose supports were calcined at lower temperatures(600, 800 and 1000 C). These findings would therefore be helpful to develop Ni/Al2O3 methanation catalyst for SNG production.

Effect of CeO_2 addition on Ni/Al_2O_3 catalysts for methanation of carbon dioxide with hydrogen

The Ni-CeO2/Al2O3 catalysts with a nickel content of 15 wt% prepared via impregnating boehmite were found to be highly active and stable for methanation of carbon dioxide with hydrogen at a H2/CO2 molar ratio of 4. The effects of CeO2 content and reaction temperature on the performance of the Ni-CeO2/Al2O3 catalysts were studied in detail. The results showed that the catalytic performance was strongly dependent on the CeO2 content in Ni-CeO2/Al2O3 catalysts and that the catalysts with 2 wt% CeO2 had the highest catalytic activity among the tested ones at 350 ℃. The XRD and H2-TPR characterizations revealed that the addition of CeO2 decreased the reduction temperature by altering the interaction between Ni and Al2O3, and improved the reducibility of the catalyst. Preliminary stability test of 120 h on stream over the Ni-2CeO2/Al2O3 catalyst at 350 ℃ revealed that the catalyst was much better than the unpromoted one.

Promotion effects of nickel-doped Al2O3-nanosheet-supported Au catalysts for CO oxidation

Supported gold catalysts show high activity toward CO oxidation, and the nature of the support significantly affects the catalytic activity. Herein, serial Ni doping of thin porous Al2 O3 nanosheets was performed via a precipitation-hydrothermal method by varying the amount of Ni during the precipitation step. The prepared nanosheets were subsequently used as supports for the deposition of Au nanoparticles(NPs). The obtained Au/Nix Al catalysts were studied in the context of CO oxidation to determine the effect of Ni doping on the supports. Enhanced catalytic performances were obtained for the Au/Nix Al catalysts compared with those of the Au supported on bare Al2 O3. The Ni content and pretreatment atmosphere were both shown to influence the catalytic activity. Pretreatment under a reducing atmosphere was beneficial for improving catalytic activity. The highest activity was observed for the catalysts with a Ni/Al molar ratio of 0.05, achieving complete CO conversion at 20 °C with a gold loading of 1 wt%. The in-situ FTIR results showed that the introduction of Ni strengthened CO adsorption on the Au NPs. The H2-TPR and O2-TPD results indicated that the introduction of Ni produced new oxygen vacancies and allowed the oxygen molecules to be adsorbed and activated more easily. The improved catalytic performance after doping Ni was attributed to the smaller size of the Au NPs and more active oxygen species.

Effects of the Different Supports on the Activity and Selectivity of Iron-Cobalt Bimetallic Catalyst for Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis

Silica, alumina, and activated carbon supported iron-cobalt catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation. These catalysts have been characterized by BET, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, and temperature-programmed reduction （TPR）. Activity and selectivity of iron-cobalt supported on different carriers for CO hydrogenation were studied under the conditions of 1.5 MPa, 493 K, 630 h^-1, and H2/CO ratio of 1.6. The results indicate that the activity, C4 olefin/（C4 olefin＋C4 paraffin） ratio, and C5 olefin/（C5 olefin＋C5 paraffin） decrease in the order of Fe-Co/SiO2, Fe-Co/AC1, Fe-Co/Al2O3 and Fe- Co/AC2. The activity of Fe-Co/SiO2 reached a maximum. The results of TPR show that the Fe-Co/SiO2 catalyst is to some extent different. XRD patterns show that the Fe-Co/SiO2 catalyst differs significantly from the others; it has two diffraction peaks. The active spinel phase is correlated with the supports.

Complete Oxidation of Methane over Palladium Supported on Alumina Modified with Calcium,Lanthanum,and Cerium Ions

The activity and thermal stability of Pd/Al2O3 and Pd/（Al2O3＋MOx） （M=Ca, La, Ce） palladium catalysts in the reaction of complete oxidation of methane are presented in this study. The catalyst supports were prepared by sol-gel method and they were dried either conventionally or with supercritical carbon dioxide. Then they were impregnated with palladium nitrate solution. The catalysts with unmodified alumina had a high surface area. The activity and thermal stability of the aluminasupported catalyst was also very high. The introduction of calcium, lanthanum, or cerium oxide into alumina support caused a decrease of the surface area in the way dependent on the support precursor drying method. These modifiers decreased the activity of palladium catalysts, and they required higher temperatures for the complete oxidation of methane than unmodified Pd/Al2O3. The improvement of the palladium activity by lanthanum and cerium support modifier was observed only at low temperatures of the reaction.

Effects of carrier and Mn loading on supported manganese oxide catalysts for catalytic combustion of methane

Supported manganese oxide catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation method for methane catalytic combustion, and effects of the support （Al2O3, SiO2 and TiO2） and Mn loading were investigated. These catalysts were characterized with N2 adsorption, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and temperature-programmed reduction techniques. Methane conversion varied in a large range depending on supports or Mn loading. Al2O3 supported 15% Mn catalyst exhibited better activity toward methane catalytic oxidation. The manganese state and oxygen species played an important role in the catalytic performance,

Preparation of Nano-Sized γ-Al_2O_3 Supported Iron Catalyst for Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis by Solvated Metal Atom Impregnation Methods

Two types of small iron clusters supported on γ-Al2O3-RT（dehydroxylated at room temperature） and γ-Al2O3-800 （dehydroxylated at 800 ℃） were prepared by solvated metal atom impregnation （SMAI） techniques. The iron atom precursor complex, bis（toluene）iron（0） formed in the metal atom reactor, was impregnated into γ-Al2O3 having different concentrations of surface hydroxyl groups to study the effect of surface hydroxylation on the crucial stage of iron cluster formation. Catalysts prepared in this way were characterized by TEM, Mǒssbauer, and chemisorption measurements, and the results show that higher concentration of surface hydroxyl groups of γ-Al2O3-RT favors the formation of more positively charged supported iron cluster Fen/γ-Al2O3-RT, and the lower concentration of surface hydroxyl groups of γ-Al2O3-800 favors the formation of basically neutral supported iron cluster Fen/γ-Al2O3-800. The measured results also indicate that the higher concentration of surface hydroxyl groups causes the rapid decomposition of precursor complex, bis（toluene）iron（0）, and favors the formation of relatively large iron cluster. Consequently, these two types of catalysts show different catalytic properties in Fischer-Tropsch reaction. The catalytic pattern of Fen/γ-Al2O3-RT in F-T reaction is similar to that of the unreduced γ-Fe2O3 and that of Fen/γ-Al2O3-800 is similar to that of the reduced α-Fe2O3.

Methanation of carbon dioxide on Ni/ZrO_2-Al_2O_3 catalysts:Effects of ZrO_2 promoter and preparation method of novel ZrO_2-Al_2O_3 carrier

The novel nickel-based catalysts with a nickel content of 12 wt% were prepared with the zirconia-alumina composite as the supports. The new carriers, ZrO2 improved alumina, were synthesized by three methods, i.e., impregnation-precipitation, co-precipitation, and impregnation method. The catalytic properties of these catalysts were investigated in the methanation of carbon dioxide, and the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscope （XPS）, temperature-programmed reduction （TPR） and temperature-programmed desorption （TPD） techniques. The new catalysts showed higher catalytic activity and better stability than Ni/γ-Al2O3. Furthermore, as a support for new nickel catalyst, the ZrO2-Al2O3 composite prepared by the impregnation-precipitation method was more efficient than the other supports in the methanation of carbon dioxide. The highly dispersed zirconium oxide on the surface of γ-Al2O3 inhibited the formation of nickel aluminate-like phase, which was responsible for the better dispersion of Ni species and easier reduction of NiO species, leading to the enhanced catalytic performance of corresponding catalyst.