Title: Methanol production via CO₂ hydrogenation reaction: effect of catalyst support

Authors: Sara Tasfy; Noor Asmawati Mohd Zabidi; Maizatul Shima Shaharun; Duvvuri Subbarao

Addresses: Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, American University of Ras Al Khaimah, Ras Al Khaimah, 10021, UAE ' Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750 Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia ' Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750 Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia ' Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750 Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia

Abstract: In this project, Cu-based catalyst was synthesised via impregnation method on various supports such as Al₂O₃, Al₂O₃-ZrO₂, SBA-15 and Al-modified SBA-15. Samples were characterised by N₂ adsorption-desorption, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), temperature-programmed desorption/reduction (TPD/R) and pulse chemisorption. The activity of the supported Cu-based catalyst was evaluated in a fixed-bed micro-reactor at 483 K, 2.25 MPa, and H₂/CO₂ ratio of 3 : 1. Our results showed that the nature of the oxide support influenced the physicochemical properties of the catalysts as well as the catalytic activity and product selectivity. The size of catalyst nanoparticles ranged from 9 nm to 37 nm, depending on the type of support used. The Cu-based catalyst supported on SBA-15 resulted in 13.96% CO₂ conversion and methanol selectivity of 91.32% and these values were higher than those obtained using Cu-based catalyst supported on other oxide carriers.

Keywords: CO2 hydrogenation; carbon dioxide; methanol; Cu/ZnO catalyst; zinc oxide; catalyst support; SBA-15; Al2O3; aluminium oxide; catalyst nanoparticles; CuO; copper oxide; cupric oxide; methanol production; nanotechnology.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNT.2017.082461

International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2017 Vol.14 No.1/2/3/4/5/6, pp.410 - 421

Published online: 24 Feb 2017 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article