Evaluation of CO<sub>2</sub> Hydrogenation in a Modular Fixed-Bed Reactor Prototype
Low-cost iron-based CO<sub>2</sub> hydrogenation catalysts have shown promise as a viable route to the production of value-added hydrocarbon building blocks. It is envisioned that these hydrocarbons will be used to augment industrial chemical processes and produce drop-in replacement ope...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Catalysts |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/10/9/970 |
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| author | Heather D. Willauer Matthew J. Bradley Jeffrey W. Baldwin Joseph J. Hartvigsen Lyman Frost James R. Morse Felice DiMascio Dennis R. Hardy David J. Hasler |
| author_facet | Heather D. Willauer Matthew J. Bradley Jeffrey W. Baldwin Joseph J. Hartvigsen Lyman Frost James R. Morse Felice DiMascio Dennis R. Hardy David J. Hasler |
| author_sort | Heather D. Willauer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Low-cost iron-based CO<sub>2</sub> hydrogenation catalysts have shown promise as a viable route to the production of value-added hydrocarbon building blocks. It is envisioned that these hydrocarbons will be used to augment industrial chemical processes and produce drop-in replacement operational fuel. To this end, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has been designing, testing, modeling, and evaluating CO<sub>2</sub> hydrogenation catalysts in a laboratory-scale fixed-bed environment. To transition from the laboratory to a commercial process, the catalyst viability and performance must be evaluated at scale. The performance of a Macrolite<sup>®</sup>-supported iron-based catalyst in a commercial-scale fixed-bed modular reactor prototype was evaluated under different reactor feed rates and product recycling conditions. CO<sub>2</sub> conversion increased from 26% to as high as 69% by recycling a portion of the product stream and CO selectivity was greatly reduced from 45% to 9% in favor of hydrocarbon production. In addition, the catalyst was successfully regenerated for optimum performance. Catalyst characterization by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), along with modeling and kinetic analysis, highlighted the potential challenges and benefits associated with scaling-up catalyst materials and processes for industrial implementation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:48:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7889711376594edcb1be900415241593 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4344 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:48:50Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Catalysts |
| spelling | doaj.art-7889711376594edcb1be9004152415932023-11-20T11:25:17ZengMDPI AGCatalysts2073-43442020-08-0110997010.3390/catal10090970Evaluation of CO<sub>2</sub> Hydrogenation in a Modular Fixed-Bed Reactor PrototypeHeather D. Willauer0Matthew J. Bradley1Jeffrey W. Baldwin2Joseph J. Hartvigsen3Lyman Frost4James R. Morse5Felice DiMascio6Dennis R. Hardy7David J. Hasler8Naval Research Laboratory, Materials Science & Technology Division, Washington, DC 20375, USAASEE Postdoctoral Research Associate, Naval Research Laboratory, Materials Science & Technology Division, Washington, DC 20375, USANaval Research Laboratory, Acoustics Division, Washington, DC 20375, USAOxEon Energy, 257 S Riverbend Way Suite 300, North Salt Lake, UT 84054, USAOxEon Energy, 257 S Riverbend Way Suite 300, North Salt Lake, UT 84054, USANaval Research Laboratory, Materials Science & Technology Division, Washington, DC 20375, USAOffice of Naval Research, Arlington, VA 22203, USANOVA Research Inc., 1900 Elkin Street, Alexandria VA 22308, USAOffice of Naval Research, Arlington, VA 22203, USALow-cost iron-based CO<sub>2</sub> hydrogenation catalysts have shown promise as a viable route to the production of value-added hydrocarbon building blocks. It is envisioned that these hydrocarbons will be used to augment industrial chemical processes and produce drop-in replacement operational fuel. To this end, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has been designing, testing, modeling, and evaluating CO<sub>2</sub> hydrogenation catalysts in a laboratory-scale fixed-bed environment. To transition from the laboratory to a commercial process, the catalyst viability and performance must be evaluated at scale. The performance of a Macrolite<sup>®</sup>-supported iron-based catalyst in a commercial-scale fixed-bed modular reactor prototype was evaluated under different reactor feed rates and product recycling conditions. CO<sub>2</sub> conversion increased from 26% to as high as 69% by recycling a portion of the product stream and CO selectivity was greatly reduced from 45% to 9% in favor of hydrocarbon production. In addition, the catalyst was successfully regenerated for optimum performance. Catalyst characterization by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), along with modeling and kinetic analysis, highlighted the potential challenges and benefits associated with scaling-up catalyst materials and processes for industrial implementation.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/10/9/970carbon dioxidehydrogenationcatalystgas hourly space velocity (GHSV)fixed-bed reactor |
| spellingShingle | Heather D. Willauer Matthew J. Bradley Jeffrey W. Baldwin Joseph J. Hartvigsen Lyman Frost James R. Morse Felice DiMascio Dennis R. Hardy David J. Hasler Evaluation of CO<sub>2</sub> Hydrogenation in a Modular Fixed-Bed Reactor Prototype Catalysts carbon dioxide hydrogenation catalyst gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) fixed-bed reactor |
| title | Evaluation of CO<sub>2</sub> Hydrogenation in a Modular Fixed-Bed Reactor Prototype |
| title_full | Evaluation of CO<sub>2</sub> Hydrogenation in a Modular Fixed-Bed Reactor Prototype |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of CO<sub>2</sub> Hydrogenation in a Modular Fixed-Bed Reactor Prototype |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of CO<sub>2</sub> Hydrogenation in a Modular Fixed-Bed Reactor Prototype |
| title_short | Evaluation of CO<sub>2</sub> Hydrogenation in a Modular Fixed-Bed Reactor Prototype |
| title_sort | evaluation of co sub 2 sub hydrogenation in a modular fixed bed reactor prototype |
| topic | carbon dioxide hydrogenation catalyst gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) fixed-bed reactor |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/10/9/970 |
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