Design of ultra-active iron-based Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalysts over spherical mesoporous carbon with developed porosity

Iron-based Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) has received renewable interests due to the gradual depletion of crude oil resources and its flexible product adjustment from lower olefins to long-chain hydrocarbons. However, one of the main challenges of iron-based FTS catalysts is the relative lower activity or productivity (per gram catalyst) at low or middle temperature. In this work, ultra-active iron-based FTS catalysts (Fe/SMC) were developed by loading iron over spherical mesoporous carbon (SMC) with huge porosity. The large pore volume (2.22 cm³/g) and high specific surface area (767 m²/g) of SMC allowed the high iron loading (up to 50 wt%) with proper dispersion. Weak C-Fe interaction was observed in the Fe/SMC catalysts, which was favorable for the reduction of iron and its further carburization to form more active sites of FTS. Activity tests showed that the Fe/SMC catalysts exhibited ultra-high activities in FTS. With the increase of iron loadings (30–50 wt%), the FTS rates (FTY, mmol CO/(h·g cat.)) of Fe/SMC catalysts increased due to the larger iron surfaces exposed at higher iron loadings. Small amount of K promoter significantly enhanced the FTY and apparent turnover frequency (TOF, S⁻¹) of the Fe/SMC catalysts. The hydrocarbon productivity of K-promoted catalyst (40FeK/SMC) was up to 0.91 g HC/(h·g cat.) (260 °C, H₂/CO = 1, 2 MPa), much higher than that of any other supported or unsupported iron-based FTS catalysts reported at similar reaction conditions. The results obtained in this work will open a new avenue for the development of highly active iron-based FTS catalysts.