Effect of calcium promoter on nano structure iron catalyst for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

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The Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) has been recognized as a heterogeneous surface-catalyzed polymerization process. During this process, CHx monomers formed via the hydrogenation of adsorbed CO on transition metals produce hydrocarbons and oxygenates with a broad range of chain lengths and functional groups. A series of Fe/Cu Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalysts incorporated with a calcium promoter were prepared by a microemulsion method. The composition of the final nanosized iron catalysts in terms of the atomic ratio is as follows: 100Fe/4Cu, 100Fe/4Cu/2Ca, 100Fe/4Cu/4Ca. XRD, BET, TEM, and TPR techniques were used to study the catalysts phase, structure, and morphology. Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) reaction test was performed in a fixed bed reactor. All the promoted catalysts, compared to the unpromoted catalysts, have higher rates of FT and the secondary reaction for CO2 production. The formation of methane and light hydrocarbons is restrained with increasing the amount of calcium. The 100Fe/4Cu/2Ca shows the best performance between the prepared catalysts.