Fischer-Tropsch catalytic systems

Photochemical activation (15) and thermal activation (11,16, 17) of iron carbonyl complexes In various zeolites have been reported. Part of our study Is to use Mossbauer spectroscopy to Investigate the behavior of Fe(C0)5 on several zeolites when activated photochemically and thermally. Another part of our study Is to Investigate the novel preparation method of Scherzer and Fort (18) that Introduces iron Into (in their study) zeolite NH Y as an anionic complex. Finally, we will report the preparation of ferrocene sublimed onto zeolite ZSM-5. The photochemical and thermal activation of these systems will be reported as well as preliminary results of the photochemical isomerization of olefins by Fe(C0)5 zeolites and the thermal activation of Fischer-Tropsch catalytic systems. It also should be noted here that our Mossbauer studies involve an in-situ pretreatment cell which can be heated to 500°C under various gaseous atmospheres. 

There has been considerable recent research interest in the activation of carbon monoxide en route to more complex organic molecules. Among the various reactions that have been investigated and/or newly discovered, the transition metal catalyzed reduction of CO to hydrocarbons (Fischer-Tropsch synthesis) has enjoyed particular attention (l- ). Whereas most of the successful efforts in this area have been directed toward the development of heterogeneous catalysts, there are relatively few homogeneous systems. Among these, two are based on clusters (10,11) and others are stoichiometric in metal (12-17). In this report we detail the synthesis and catalytic chemistry of polystyrene ( ) supported... 

Since cobalt on kieselguhr in one of the original Fischer-Tropsch catalysts (1-9), it appeared attractive to investigate the catalytic activity of cobalt complexes immobilized on polystyrene. Although there are many supported cobalt-based Fischer-Tropsch catalysts known (see, for example, references 18-21), no polystyrene-bound systems had been reported. During the course of our work 18% (22,60,61) and 20% (23) crosslinked analogs of CpCo(C0)2 were shown to exhibit limited catalytic activity but no CO reduction. A preliminary disclosure of our work has appeared (2)4). 

Fischer-Tropsch synthesis making use of cobalt-based catalysts is a hotly persued scientific topic in the catalysis community since it offers an interesting and economically viable route for the conversion of e.g. natural gas to sulphur-free diesel fuels. As a result, major oil companies have recently announced to implement this technology and major investments are under way to build large Fischer-Tropsch plants based on cobalt-based catalysts in e.g. Qatar. Promoters have shown to be crucial to alter the catalytic properties of these catalyst systems in a positive way. For this reason, almost every chemical element of the periodic table has been evaluated in the open literature for its potential beneficial effects on the activity, selectivity and stability of supported cobalt nanoparticles. 

The conversion of CO + H2 (syn-gas) to hydrocarbons and oxygenates (Fischer-Tropsch chemistry)119 is of considerable industrial importance and recently the activation and fixation of carbon monoxide in homogeneous systems has been an active area for research.120,121 The early transition elements and the early actinide elements, in particular zirconium124 and thorium,125 126 supported by two pentamethylcyclopentadienyl ligands have provided a rich chemistry in the non-catalytic activation of CO. Reactions of alkyl and hydride ligands attached to the Cp2M centers with CO lead to formation of reactive tf2-acyl or -formyl compounds.125,126 These may be viewed in terms of the resonance forms (1) and (2) shown below. 

Some mechanistic information is available on ruthenium-based homogeneous Fischer-Tropsch reactions. By in situ IR spectroscopy, in the absence of any promoter, only Ru(CO)5 is observed. An important difference between the cobalt and the rhodium system on the one hand and ruthenium on the other is that in the latter case no ethylene glycol or higher alcohols are obtained. In other words, in the catalytic cycle the hydroxymethyl route is avoided. 

These mixed metal systems have also been tested with the transient method for catalytic activity in the Fischer-Tropsch reaction. We would like to remark here that the nature of the cation, anion, and zeolite are all important factors in the Fischer-Tropsch reactions that we have studied. Further details of these catalytic studies can be found elsewhere (23). We do observe here, however, that some catalysts that are completely reduced to the metallic state are not necessarily the most active catalysts. Also, even though the Mossbauer experiments suggest that 400°C is sufficient for complete reduction, higher activation temperatures can increase the activity and selectivity of these reactions. We have also observed that the cation definitely changes the product distribution and the activity. 

In this paper, we will review the chemical behaviour of transition metal oxides which is of crucial importance for heterogeneous catalysis, adhesion and many technological applications. Among them, MgO(lOO) is the simplest surface, with a square unit-cell containing two ions with opposite charges titanium oxides represent another important class of systems used for their catalytic properties either directly as catalyst or indirectly as support for other catalysts (metals such as Ni, Rh for the Fischer-Tropsch reaction or V2O5 for the reduction of NOx) or as promotors[l]. The most stable surface for rutile is the (110) face. 

Fig. 12. Fischer-Tropsch reaction at 1 atm is first-order in CO, with an activation energy of 27 kcal/ mole (Lancet, 1972). Rate in a flow system is 10 times faster than in the static system used here. Dashed line shows extrapolation to solar nebula, assuming that the rate is proportional to (PcoIIPhj) . Reaction proceeds at an undetectable rate when the Bruderheim L6 chondrite is used as a catalyst. Apparently the high-temperature minerals in this meteorite (olivine, orthopyroxene, troilite, and nickel-iron) do not catalyze the hydrogenation of CO. Thus CO can survive in the solar nebula down to 400 K, when catalytically active minerals first from (Fig. 1 and 10)...

The catalytically active phase was assumed to be exclusively a-Fe, and Fe304 was assumed not to be active for the Fischer-Tropsch reaction. Kinetic parameters for the simulations were obtained independently in separate oxidation/reduction studies. Balancing the oxidation and reduction rates for the CO/CO2 and the H2/H2O systems independently and describing the rate of synthesis in Fischer-Tropsch reactions by a standard expression, Caldwell could predict the oscillations with a simplified model for a tubular reactor fairly well. 

Like Rh/1 systems, the Ir4(CO),2/l2 system catalyzes the carbonylation of methanol to acetic acid [70]. In homogeneous hydrogenation of CO (Fischer Tropsch reaction), Ir4(CO)i2 shows a relatively high catalytic activity compared with other transition metal carbonyls (eq (62)) [71]. 

A. first-of-a-kind multifunctional catalytic system is being developed to convert synthesis gas into synthetic crude via the Fischer-Tropsch reaction. This is achieved through intensification of chemical reaction and heat and mass transport processes within the catalyst system. Tbe synergistic integration of intensified unit operations with chemical reaction leads to enhanced catalyst performance and significant economic advantages. 

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