Metal methanol synthesis

A system has been constructed which allows combined studies of reaction kinetics and catalyst surface properties. Key elements of the system are a computer-controlled pilot plant with a plug flow reactor coupled In series to a minireactor which Is connected, via a high vacuum sample transfer system, to a surface analysis Instrument equipped with XFS, AES, SAM, and SIMS. When Interesting kinetic data are observed, the reaction Is stopped and the test sample Is transferred from the mlnlreactor to the surface analysis chamber. Unique features and problem areas of this new approach will be discussed. The power of the system will be Illustrated with a study of surface chemical changes of a Cu0/Zn0/Al203 catalyst during activation and methanol synthesis. Metallic Cu was Identified by XFS as the only Cu surface site during methanol synthesis. 

R. G. Herman et al. (8) studied these catalyst systems In great detail and suggested a Cu-fl solution In ZnO as active phase where Cu- - non-dlssoclatlvely chemisorbs and activates CO and ZnO activates H2. In the range of 15 to 85Z CuO In the catalyst, up to 16% Cu+1 became dissolved In the ZnO (9) and Cu+1 has been widely accepted as active site (10). Recently, however, Raney Cu-Zn catalysts have been shown to be very active methanol synthesis catalysts (11). The active component for these Raney catalysts was found to be metallic Cu with an activity maximum at 97 wt% Cu (12). 

Special attention was paid to the detection of residual Cu-fl quantities accompanying the metallic Cu. The relative amounts of Cu+1 and Cu were determined by curve-fitting the Cu (LMM) spectra using the Physical Electronics Version 6 curve-fitting program. The catalyst showed reduction of Cu+2 Into a mixture of Cu+1 and Cu after reduction In H2 at 250 C for one hour (Figure 6) as evidenced by the two resolved peaks In the Cu (LMM) spectrum at 568.0 and 570.3 eV which are characteristic of Cu and Cu+1, respectively, and by the disappearance of the Cu+2 2p satellite structure. It could be shown that less than 2%, If any, of the total Cu could be present In the +1 oxidation state during methanol formation. However, when the catalyst was briefly exposed to air (1 minute), a few percent of Cu+1 readily formed (7). Thus, any kind of oxidation environment has to be avoided between methanol synthesis and catalyst analysis. Otherwise, appreciable amounts of Cu+1 will be detected. 

The study of a CuO/ZnO/AlaOs methanol synthesis catalyst showed the working catalyst surface under our experimental conditions to consist of metallic Cu, ZnO, and Al Os. Brief exposure of such catalysts to air results In Instant formation of a few percent Cu+l. Thus, the use of a combined reactlon/analysls system as described here is absolutely essential In surface analytical studies of reactive catalyst surfaces. 

Besides supported (transition) metal catalysts, structure sensitivity can also be observed with bare (oxidic) support materials, too. In 2003, Hinrichsen et al. [39] investigated methanol synthesis at 30 bar and 300 °C over differently prepared zinc oxides, namely by precipitation, coprecipitation with alumina, and thermolysis of zinc siloxide precursor. Particle sizes, as determined by N2 physisorpt-ion and XRD, varied from 261 nm for a commercial material to 7.0 nm for the thermolytically obtained material. Plotting the areal rates against BET surface areas (Figure 3) reveals enhanced activity for the low surface area zinc... 

Another study on the preparation of supported oxides illustrates how SIMS can be used to follow the decomposition of catalyst precursors during calcination. We discuss the formation of zirconium dioxide from zirconium ethoxide on a silica support [15], Zr02 is catalytically active for a number of reactions such as isosynthesis, methanol synthesis, and catalytic cracking, but is also of considerable interest as a barrier against diffusion of catalytically active metals such as rhodium or cobalt into alumina supports at elevated temperatures. 

Figure 6.20 Quick EXAFS and XRD measurements recorded during the temperature programmed reduction of copper in a Cu/Zn0/Al203 methanol synthesis catalyst. The disappearance and appearance of peaks with increasing temperature in the series of EXAFS spectra corresponds to the conversion of oxidic to metallic copper. The intensity of the relatively sharp peak around 9040 eV, indicative of Cu metal, clearly illustrates the kinetics of the reduction process, as does the intensity of the (111) reflection of Cu metal in the XRD spectra (adapted from Clausen 44J).

Campbell and coworkers287,297 also published work on methanol synthesis. In that case, they also found that the active site is metallic copper, but they suggest that the mechanism in that case does involve formate intermediates, and that the ratedetermining step is likely the hydrogenation of the formate species to methanol. 

Wainwright, Tomsett, Trimm, and coworkers/Mellor, Copperthwaite, and coworkers—Raney copper catalysts for WGS and methanol synthesis. In 1995, Wainwright and Trimm295 reviewed Raney178 copper catalysts for both water-gas shift and methanol synthesis applications and discussed the possibility of either a redox mechanism or a formate mechanism for Raney copper catalysts. Formates, they indicated, rapidly decompose to C02 and H2 over metallic copper surface. They... 

Copper based catalysts have long been considered as the only effective methanol synthesis catalysts. However, Poutsma et al. (7) showed that palladium catalysts were active in methanol synthesis from CO-H. This latter metal had been previously considered as either almost inactive or active only for methane formation (8). Furthermore it is now known that both activity and selectivity can change drastically with the support. Vannice (9) observed that the methanation activity of a Pd/Al O was enhanced eighty and forty times compared to palladium black or Pd/SiO (or Pd/TiO ) respectively. The support effect on the selectivity was pointed out by many authors even at atmospheric pressure when the reaction temperature... 

In the methanol synthesis, a fast hydrogenation of the adsorbed formaldehyde would overcome arguments invoking any thermodynamic limitation to its formation. Formaldehyde adsorbed through both the oxygen and the carbon ends has been characterized in homogeneous catalysis (43), on oxide surfaces (44) and more recently on ruthenium metal (45). 

Unpromoted Cu/Si02 is found to have a low activity for methanol synthesis from H2/CO mixtures, whereas an increased activity from H2/CO2. Alkali metal promotion increases the activity for methanol synthesis from the H2/CO mixtures, probably due to the increase in surface OH groups engaged in the formation of the formate species which are the precursors to the methanol. Cu/Si02 powder catalysts (with 5 wt% Cu) can be prepared by ion exchange of silica with Cu(NOs)2 in aqueous solution, followed by calcination and reduction. Such preparations contain very fine Cu particles ( 0.5 nm) on a powdered silica support as revealed by HRTEM. 

EXAFS has been very useful in the study of catalysts, especially in investigating the nature of metal clusters on surfaces of the supported metal catalysts (Kulkarni et al, 1989 Sinfelt et al, 1984). A variety of systems has been examined already and there is still considerable scope for investigation in this area. Since EXAFS gives bond distances and coordination numbers and is absorber-selective, it is possible to study one metal at a time (Fig. 2.12). Thus, an EXAFS investigation of sulphided Co—Mo— Al20j and related catalysts has shown the nature of the reactive surface species (Kulkarni Rao, 1991). Cu/ZnO catalysts have revealed certain unusual features suggesting the complex nature of the species involved in methanol synthesis (Arunarkavalli et al, 1993). Time-resolved EXAFS is of considerable value for the study of catalysts (Sankar et al, 1992). 

Because of the pure performance of traditional Cu catalysts in the hydrogenation of C02, efforts have been made to find new, more effective catalysts for direct C02 hydrogenation. The problem is to improve selectivity, specifically, to find catalysts that display high selectivity toward methanol formation and, at the same time, show low selectivity in the reverse water-gas shift reaction, that is, in the formation of CO. It appears that copper is the metal of choice for methanol synthesis from C02 provided suitable promoters may be added. Special synthesis methods have also been described for the preparation of traditional three-component Cu catalysts (Cu-ZnO-A1203 and Cu-Zn0-Cr203) to improve catalytic performance for C02 reduction. 

On the basis of a comparison of the characteristics of these two metals, Ponec strongly favors the involvement of Cu+ and Pd+ centers in methanol synthesis.393... 

In a new study of a series of binary Cu-ZnO catalysts a correlation was found between methanol synthesis activity and strain in the Cu metal phase.619 Structural defects of Cu resulting from ZnO dissolved in Cu, incomplete reduction, or epitaxial orientation to ZnO are believed to bring about strain, which modifies the Cu surface and, consequently, affects the catalytic activity. The higher amount of water formed in methanol synthesis from a C02-rich feed compared to a CO-rich feed brings about significant catalyst deactivation by inducing crystallization of both Cu and ZnO.620... 

Ammonia, Hydrogen, and Methanol Production The ammonia synthesis catalyst is metallic iron promoted with AljO,. K 0. MgO. and CaO. The hydrogen-producing (methane reforming) catalyst is supported nickel. The methanol synthesis catalyst is ZnO promoted with Cr Oj or Cu(l>—ZnO promoted with CrjOl or AUOi. The respective reactions are cited as follows. 

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