Technical and economic aspects of promotion of cobalt-based Fischer-Tropsch catalysts by noble metals - a review
M de Beer, A Kunene, D Nabaho, M Claeys, E van Steen
The conversion of carbon-containing feedstock into liquid fuels can
proceed via the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, which is catalysed using
supported cobalt catalysts. These catalysts contain noble metals to
facilitate the reduction of oxidic cobalt species in the catalyst precursor
to metallic cobalt, which is the catalytically active species for the
Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. This is thought to occur via hydrogen
spillover, i.e. the diffusion of atomic hydrogen over the support from the
noble metal to the oxidic cobalt moieties. Noble metals may also affect
the dispersion of cobalt in the active Fischer-Tropsch catalyst. The
economic aspect of the addition of noble metals to the Fischer-Tropsch
catalyst is discussed.
Keywords: catalysis, supported cobalt catalyst, noble metals, Fischer-Tropsch
synthesis.