Fischer-Tropsch synthesis: effect of silica on hydrocarbon production over cobalt-based catalysts

Support materials have an important role in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) catalyst and are influenced by various factors. In this paper, the effects of silica augmentation to -Al2O3 supported cobalt material on morphology and performance of catalyst have been studied. A series of catalysts, contain 0, 5, 10, and 15wt% SiO2, were prepared using the incipient wetness impregnation method. The prepared catalysts were characterized by various techniques such as BET, H-2-TPR, XRD, and HRTEM. Then, the catalysts were tested in a fixed-bed reactor. The results showed that the addition of SiO2 material remarkably promoted the catalyst performance in terms of CO conversion, catalyst activity, and consequently catalytic yield. Among the synthesized catalysts, the catalyst with 10wt% silica demonstrated an optimum silica addition to achieve the highest catalyst performance.