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Investigation of cobalt active sites in cobalt-based catalyst for higher alcohol synthesis from synga


EMSL Project ID
39090

Abstract

The higher alcohol synthesis, which produces higher alcohol (C6-C18 alpha alcohol) for transportation fuel or fuel additives by reacting synthesis gas (CO and H2), is at the heart of the gas-to-liquid (GTL) process as an alternative for the petroleum-based one. Cobalt-based supported catalysts are generally known to have a high activity and selectivity for the reaction. It was known that as the reaction proceeds, the active phase, which is cobalt metal, is transformed to cobalt oxides (CoO or Co3O4) or cobalt carbides (CoC2). Therefore, understanding the nature of the cobalt active sites in the catalyst is essential for the development of novel catalyst with better activity. In the study, we propose to use the state-of-the-art techniques at EMSL to investigate the cobalt active sites at the molecular level. In situ XPS, TEM and computational methods are expected to provide the complimentary and valuable information about the cobalt phases and cobalt oxidation states for cobalt based higher alcohol synthesis catalyst.

Project Details

Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2010-03-02
End Date
2011-03-06
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

Do Heui Kim
Institution
Seoul National University

Team Members

Junming Sun
Institution
Washington State University

Roger Rousseau
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Vanessa Dagle
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Donghai Mei
Institution
Tiangong University

Yong Wang
Institution
Washington State University

Related Publications

Lebarbier VMC, D Mei, DH Kim, A Andersen, JL Male, JE Holladay, RJ Rousseau, and Y Wang. 2011. "Effects of La2O3 on the mixed higher alcohols synthesis from syngas over Co catalysts: A combined theoretical and experimental study." Journal of Physical Chemistry C 115(35):17440-17451. doi:10.1021/jp204003q