From Lab to Technical CO2 Hydrogenation Catalysts: Understanding PdZn Decomposition.

The valorization of CO2 to produce high-value chemicals, such as methanol and hydrocarbons, represents key technology in the future net-zero society. Herein, we report further investigation of a PdZn/ZrO2 + SAPO-34 catalyst for conversion of CO2 and H2 into propane, already presented in a previous work. The focus of this contribution is on the scale up of this catalyst. In particular, we explored the effect of mixing (1:1 mass ratio) and shaping the two catalyst functions into tablets and extrudates using an alumina binder. Their catalytic performance was correlated with structural and spectroscopic characteristics using methods such as FT-IR and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The two scaled-up bifunctional catalysts demonstrated worse performance than a 1:1 mass physical mixture of the two individual components. Indeed, we demonstrated that the preparation negatively affects the element distribution. The physical mixture is featured by the presence of a PdZn alloy, as demonstrated by our previous work on this sample and high hydrocarbon selectivity among products. For both tablets and extrudates, the characterization showed Zn migration to produce Zn aluminates from the alumina binder phase upon reduction. Moreover, the extrudates showed a remarkable higher amount of Zn aluminates before the activation rather than the tablets. Comparing tablets and extrudates with the physical mixture, no PdZn alloy was observed after activation and only the extrudates showed the presence of metallic Pd. Due to the Zn migration, SAPO-34 poisoning and subsequent deactivation of the catalyst could not be excluded. These findings corroborated the catalytic results: Zn aluminate formation and Pd0 separation could be responsible for the decrease of the catalytic activity of the extrudates, featured by high methane selectivity and unconverted methanol, while tablets displayed reduced methanol conversion to hydrocarbons mainly attributed to the partial deactivation of the SAPO-34.

The catalytic effects of sulfur in ethane dehydroaromatization.

In this work, we investigated the catalytic effect of adding sulfur on Zn/ZSM-5 catalyst for direct conversion of ethane to aromatics. We show that the continuous addition of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) effectively stabilizes zinc, prevents coking and results in a highly selective and stable catalyst. Considering the high content of sulfur in shale gas resources, these results highlight the importance of investigating catalysts under realistic operating conditions.

Conversion of methanol to hydrocarbons: how zeolite cavity and pore size controls product selectivity.

Liquid hydrocarbon fuels play an essential part in the global energy chain, owing to their high energy density and easy transportability. Olefins play a similar role in the production of consumer goods. In a post-oil society, fuel and olefin production will rely on alternative carbon sources, such as biomass, coal, natural gas, and CO(2). The methanol-to-hydrocarbons (MTH) process is a key step in such routes, and can be tuned into production of gasoline-rich (methanol to gasoline; MTG) or olefin-rich (methanol to olefins; MTO) product mixtures by proper choice of catalyst and reaction conditions. This Review presents several commercial MTH projects that have recently been realized, and also fundamental research into the synthesis of microporous materials for the targeted variation of selectivity and lifetime of the catalysts.

Conversion of methanol into hydrocarbons over zeolite H-ZSM-5: ethene formation is mechanistically separated from the formation of higher alkenes.

The widely debated reaction mechanism for the conversion of methanol to hydrocarbons over acidic zeolite H-ZSM-5 has been investigated using isotopic labeling. The mechanistic findings for H-ZSM-5 are clearly different from those previously described at a detailed level for H-beta and H-SAPO-34 catalysts. On the basis of the current set of data, we can state that, for H-ZSM-5, ethene appears to be formed exclusively from the xylenes and trimethylbenzenes. Moreover, propene and higher alkenes are to a significant extent formed from alkene methylations and interconversions. This implies that ethene formation is mechanistically separated from the formation of higher alkenes, an insight of utmost importance for understanding and possibly controlling the ethene/propene selectivity in methanol-to-alkenes catalysis.