Direct synthesis of iso-butane from synthesis gas or CO2 over CuZnZrAl/Pd-β hybrid catalyst

The effect of various factors on the catalytic performance of iso-butane formation over CuZnZrA1/Pd-beta hybrid catalyst via synthesis gas or CO2 hydrogenation has been deeply investigated in this work. It was interesting to note that the iso-butane/n-butane ratio value was much higher than that of thermodynamic equilibrium (about 1/1), whose value was directly related to the reaction condition using this hybrid catalyst. In order to further clearly clarify this finding, various experimental reaction factors were selected to investigate the formation of iso-butane. The results revealed that increasing temperature, H-2/COx, CO2/COx, and/or Pd loading possessed an inhibiting effect on the iso-butane yield. High selectivity of iso-butane could be achieved by increasing the reaction pressure, W/F and the weight ratio of CuZnZrA1 methanol catalyst to Pd-beta catalyst. It is also noted that the addition of water seriously suppressed the reaction activity, resulting in the low ratio of iso-butane/n-butane. A possible reaction route was elucidated based on the latest results. This might shed light on the development of a high efficient catalyst for iso-butane production from synthesis gas or CO2 hydrogenation. (C) 2017 King Saud University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.