Influence of Magnesium Oxide on the Structure and Catalytic Activity of the Wustite Catalyst for Ammonia Synthesis

The influence of a magnesium oxide admixture on the activation process and catalytic activity of the iron catalyst with a wustite structure was investigated during the ammonia synthesis reaction. The incorporation of magnesium oxide into wustite grains is considered to be a structure-forming and activating promoter. It stabilizes the alpha-Fe structure and increases the activity of the catalysts in the ammonia synthesis reaction. Moreover, magnesium oxide forms a solid solution with the wustite, which slows down the reduction of a catalyst precursor. Similar to calcium and potassium compounds, magnesium oxide is present on the alpha-Fe surface of the active form of the catalyst. The optimum MgO concentration in the catalyst structure was determined to be 1.2% wt.