Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Deactivation by carbon'

ABSTRACT This thesis presents the results of investigations regarding the effect of supercritical CO2 on the long term activity, life and deactivation rates of an Fe-Zn-K catalyst during Fischer Tropsch Synthesis from syngas (H2:CO =1:1) typically produced from coal gasification. Previous studies at SIUC on FTS in Supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) have shown that CH4 selectivity was inhibited and with the presence of excess CO2, the WGS reaction was reversed. This increased the carbon economy as result of the reduction in parasitic loss of CO to CO2. In addition, it was observed that the conversion of CO, under these pressures and CO2 dilution, was significantly enhanced. Studies in a continuous flow system showed the use of SC-CO2 affected the distribution of hydrocarbons, mainly producing heavier hydrocarbons (diesel fuel). In this thesis, results from four long term experiments (21-28 day) varying the CO2:syngas ratio are reported. The experiments were conducted at 350 oC, 1200 psi with a feed rate of 200sccm in a fixed bed supercritical reactor with a volume of 150 cc. The results show that the conversion of syngas increased from 47% to 95% at the optimum ratio 5:1 (CO2:Syngas). The steady state reaction rate constant also increased 4.756 times the baseline run from 0.021215 min-1 to 0.100907 min-1, for pure syngas and a CO2:syngas ratio of 5:1 respectively. The deactivation rate did not improve with the use of supercritical CO2; however, the life span of the catalyst more than doubled that of the base line run with an increase in SC- CO2. Product tailoring can also be performed by simply changing the SC-CO2:Syngas ratio. Ratios less than 5:1 will yield a product distribution of predominately alcohols, ratios greater than 5:1 produce heavier hydrocarbons. Both of these product distributions can be beneficial, but for this research a ratio of 5:1 yielded the desired product distribution of light to heavy hydrocarbons generically known as gasoline and diesel fuel. Liquid selectivity was observed to increase with CO2 content in the feed upto a CO2:syngas ratio of 5:1, thereafter it declined slightly. CO2 is produced in the experiment of pure syngas with no Sc-CO2, however the introduction of Sc-CO2 resulted in the consumption of CO2 for the production of hydrocarbons. The methane selectivity was found to monotonically decrease with the increase in CO2 content in the feed. With oil prices increasing, the use of SC- CO2 as a reaction media for FTS is showing more promise in providing liquid fuels more effectively. The evidence of consumption of CO2 means that CO2 does not need to be removed from the syngas feed stream after the gasification and water gas shift unit processes. The increase in the observed life of the catalyst under supercritical conditions will ultimately reduce the operating cost as less material will be needed to produce the same amount of product allowing for FTS to become economically competitive.

A titania-supported nickel catalyst was prepared and tested in methanation in order to evaluate its catalytic properties (activity, selectivity and specially, activity loss), and compare it with an alumina-supported nickel catalyst. The titania-supported catalyst did not only show higher stability than alumina, but also presented a different cause of deactivation, carbon formation. In addition, a kinetic model was obtained for the titania-supported catalyst, and a study of the effect of different operating conditions (temperature, composition and partial pressures of synthesis gas and water) on the deactivation rate and carbon formation of this catalyst was performed.

 

In this work, carbonaceous deposits on spent HTFT catalysts were investigated. This research was required in order to better understand the observed loss in productivity observed in the industrial reactors, with the aim of improving the economy of the HTFT process. A host of complementary techniques were employed to systematically determine the composition of a typical catalyst recovered from a reactor. Spent HTFT catalysts are comprised of magnetite and a mixture of iron carbides as well as adsorbed hydrocarbon products (soft carbon) and hard carbon. Reaction initiates at the particle surface and along the promoter-rich grain boundaries toward the core of the grains. A partially reacted particle would therefore have a core-shell structure, with magnetite representing the unreacted region of the catalyst. The reacted region consists of a porous carbonaceous matrix with soft carbon and carbide crystallites nestled in this matrix. The hard carbonaceous species is a mixture of polymeric carbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The particle structure is linked to the sample preparation method and an alternative method yielding catalyst particle with uniformly distributed promoter elements could be beneficial. Investigating carbonaceous species is a complex process, and development of a fresh methodology would aid in the quest for insight into the nature of carbonaceous species in various systems. A new approach which entails a combination of the traditional techniques combined with MALDI-TOF MS enabled a deeper investigation. Additional aspects such as the molecular weight distributions along with known information about crystallinity and morphology of the catalyst provide a comprehensive study of carbonaceous material. Polymeric carbon and very large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons constitute hard carbon and can be observed with minimal sample preparation procedures. The evolution of the HTFT catalysts was investigated as a function of time-on-stream. This enabled us to study the effects of increasing amounts of hard carbon on the activity and the chemical and physical properties of the catalysts. The catalyst activity was found to decrease with increasing hard carbon content, although the effect of carbon deposition cannot be distinguished from phase transformation (oxidation) which occurs simultaneously. A method to quantify the amount of hard carbon, which progressively builds up on the catalyst, was demonstrated. This required a great deal of method development, which provides a platform for future investigations of these catalysts. Importantly, it allows predictions of the amounts of carbon that will be deposited after a certain reaction time. This allows more efficient regulation of catalyst replacement. The production of fine carbon-rich particles in the industrial reactor poses a major problem in the process. Carbon deposition leads to an increase in particle diameter with time on-stream. Permissible levels of hard carbon were identified, beyond which the mechanical strength of the catalyst particles deteriorate. This leads to break-up of the particles and therefore fines formation. The surface area and pore volume generally increase with progressive deposition of hard carbon, while the bulk density of the catalyst material exhibits a linear decrease with carbon build-up. A mechanism is proposed for hard carbon formation which apparently occurs through the dissociative adsorption of CO to form a carbon monolayer. This is followed by polymerisation of the carbon atoms. Meta-stable interstitial carbides are formed at the iron-carbon interface. Owing to a carbon concentration gradient between the top of the surface and the bottom of the metal or carbide particle, carbon diffusion across the crystal (carbide decomposition) and grows as a PAH molecule lifting the iron carbide away from the particle. As this corrosion process is intrinsic to iron-based catalysts, a catalyst that contains sulphur is proposed for future development.

A potential route for converting different carbon sources (coal, natural gas and biomass) into synthetic fuels is the transformation of these raw materials into synthesis gas (CO and H2), followed by a catalytic step which converts this gas into the desired fuels. The present thesis has focused on two catalytic steps: Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) and methanation. The Fischer-Tropsch synthesis serves to convert synthesis gas into liquid hydrocarbon-based fuels. Methanation serves instead to produce synthetic natural gas (SNG). Cobalt catalysts have been used in FTS while nickel catalysts have been used in methanation.             The catalyst lifetime is a parameter of critical importance both in FTS and methanation. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the deactivation causes of the cobalt and nickel catalysts in their respective reactions.             The resistance to carbonyl-induced sintering of nickel catalysts supported on different carriers (γ-Al2O3, SiO2, TiO2 and α-Al2O3) was studied. TiO2-supported nickel catalysts exhibited lower sintering rates than the other catalysts. The effect of the catalyst pellet size was also evaluated on γ-Al2O3-supported nickel catalysts. The use of large catalyst pellets gave considerably lower sintering rates. The resistance to carbon formation on the above-mentioned supported nickel catalysts was also evaluated. Once again, TiO2-supported nickel catalysts exhibited the lowest carbon formation rates. Finally, the effect of operating conditions on carbon formation and deactivation was studied using Ni/TiO2 catalysts. The use of higher H2/CO ratios and higher pressures reduced the carbon formation rate. Increasing the temperature from 280 °C to 340 °C favored carbon deposition. The addition of steam also reduced the carbon formation rate but accelerated catalyst deactivation.             The decline in activity of cobalt catalysts with increasing sulfur concentration was also assessed by ex situ poisoning of a cobalt catalyst. A deactivation model was proposed to predict the decline in activity as function of the sulfur coverage and the sulfur-to-cobalt active site ratio. The results also indicate that sulfur decreases the selectivity to long-chain hydrocarbons and olefins.

QC 20160817

The first half of this dissertation reports the development of supported Fe FT catalysts including the effects of various, carefully chosen preparation methods on the performance of alumina-supported iron/copper/potassium (FeCuK/Al2O3); it was determined that non-aqueous slurry impregnation and co-impregnation yielded catalysts with activities as high as any reported in the literature. Furthermore, the effects of support properties including pore size, hydroxyl group concentration, and support stabilizer were investigated for FeCuK/Al2O3 catalysts containing 20 or 40% Fe. For the first time, we report the performance of a supported Fe FT catalyst that is not only more active and stable than any supported Fe catalyst previously reported, but also has activity equivalent to that of the most active, unsupported catalysts. More importantly, the catalyst is extremely stable as evidenced by the fact that after 700 h on stream, its activity and productivity are still increasing. These catalyst properties result from the use of a novel γ-alumina support material doped with silica and pretreated at 1100°C. This unique support has a high pore volume, large pore diameter, and unusually high thermal stability. The ability to pretreat this support at 1100°C enables preparation of a material having a low number of acid sites and weak metal oxide-support interactions, all desirable properties for an FT catalyst. The second half of this dissertation investigates the effects of operating conditions including the partial pressures of CO and H2 and temperature on the deactivation by carbon of 25 wt% Co/ 0.25 wt% Pt/Al2O3 catalyst. It also reports the kinetics of the main FT reaction on this catalyst. As temperature increases, the H2 and CO orders for the main reaction (in the absence of deactivation) become more positive and more negative, respectively. A new mechanism was proposed to account for the inhibition effect of CO at high reaction temperatures, which includes H-assisted dissociation of CO to C* and OH*. Further, twelve samples of the CoPt/Al2O3 catalyst were tested over a period of 800 hours and XCO < 24%, each at a different set of CO and H2 partial pressures and temperature (220-250°C). At reaction temperature of 230°C, increasing PCO or PH2 increases the deactivation rate; possibly due to formation of polymeric carbons. The H2 and CO partial pressure orders for the deactivation rate at 230°C were found to be 1.12 and 1.43, respectively using a generalized-power-law-expression (GPLE) with limiting activity of 0.7 and 1st order deactivation. For a H2/CO of 2 (PH2 = 10 bar and PCO = 5 bar) the deactivation rate increases as process temperature increases from 220 to 250°C with an activation energy of 81 kJ/mol. However, at higher CO partial pressure (PCO = 10 bar) the deactivation rate for the Co catalyst of this study decreases with increasing temperature; this can possibly be attributed to the formation of more active cobalt sites at higher temperatures due to surface reconstruction.

The objective of the thesis was to analyze the ageing processes and the modifications of an Ir/CeO2catalyst for steam reforming of ethanol. Over a model Ir/CeO2 catalyst, the initial and fast deactivationwas ascribed to ceria surface restructuring and the build-up of intermediates monolayer (acetate,carbonate and hydroxyl groups). In parallel, a progressive and slow deactivation was found to come fromthe structural changes at the ceria/Ir interface linked to Ir sintering and ceria restructuring. Theencapsulating carbon, coming from C2 intermediates polymerization, did not seem too detrimental to theactivity in the investigated operating conditions. By doping ceria with PrOx, the oxygen storage capacityand thermal stability were greatly promoted, resulting in the enhanced activity and stability. The Ir/CeO2catalyst was then modified by changing the shape of ceria. It was found that the shape and therefore thestructure of ceria influenced the activity and stability significantly. A simplified modeling of theseprocesses has contributed to support the new proposals of this work.

Des filaments de carbone peuvent etre obtenus entre 450 et 550c par dismutation du monoxyde de carbone sur un alliage equimassique fer-cobalt elabore in-situ et supporte par un alumino-silicate fibreux (nextel). Ce travail a permis de preciser l'ensemble des processus intervenant lors d'une telle reaction de catalyse heterogene. Une etude thermodynamique du comportement de l'alliage en atmosphere co/co#2 a ete engagee de maniere a mieux apprehender les transformations susceptibles d'affecter le catalyseur en cours de reaction. Cette etude prevoit, entre autres resultats, une importante extension de la zone d'immunite de l'alliage quand la temperature passe de 450 a 550c. Dans le meme domaine de temperature, l'etude de la cinetique de dismutation a mis en evidence une evolution du regime reactionnel liee a l'augmentation de la teneur en co dans le melange gazeux. Pour les faibles teneurs en co, la reaction est vraisemblablement limitee par la diffusion volumique du carbone dans la particule catalytique. Dans le cas des melanges riches en co, nos resultats montrent une intervention de la diffusion en phase gazeuse qui serait d'autant plus forte que la teneur en co (et donc la vitesse) est elevee. La caracterisation du catalyseur apres reaction a ete effectuee par confrontation des analyses realisees par diffraction rx et spectroscopie mossbauer. Suivant le scenario le plus vraisemblable, la desactivation du catalyseur resulterait de la conjugaison de deux phenomenes distincts (carburation de l'alliage et encapsulation des particules catalytiques par une couche superficielle de carbone). Les depots carbones peuvent, d'une maniere generale, adopter, des formes variees. Nous nous sommes plus particulierement interesses, dans le cadre de ce travail, aux relations existant entre les morphologies filamentaire et nanotubulaire. Une etude visant a identifier les parametres experimentaux susceptibles d'orienter la morphologie du depot et portant sur 4 systemes catalyseur/substrat a mis en evidence l'influence preponderante de la dispersion du catalyseur ainsi que de la presence d'hydrogene dans le melange reactif.

La production du biogaz ne cesse d’augmenter dans le monde entier. La combustion pour produire de la chaleur et de l’électricité, de même que la production du biométhane pour l’injection au réseau de gaz de ville sont les deux applications industrielles majeures du biogaz. La recherche actuelle sur la valorisation du biogaz se focalise sur la production des produits à haute valeur ajoutée comme l’hydrogène pour la mobilité. C’est l’objectif principal du projet VABHYOGAZ3, financé par ADEME, qui vise à déployer la production d’H2 à partir du biogaz dans le Tarn. Le procédé de reformage du biogaz adopté par les partenaires industriels du projet VABHYOGAZ3 est le vaporeformage, qui est couramment utilisé dans l’industrie pour reformer le gaz naturel, et qui est un procédé fortement énergivore. Cette thèse a pour objectif de développer des catalyseurs performants pour le reformage à sec du méthane (RSB : conversion de CH4 et CO2 en syngas – mélange de CO et H2) et pour le tri-reformage du méthane (Tri-RB : conversion de CH4, CO2, H2O et O2 en syngas). Le but ultime est d’optimiser l’efficacité énergétique du procédé global de la production d’H2 via le reformage du biogaz, qui est indispensable pour rendre ce procédé économiquement viable. En fait, les catalyseurs en RSB et Tri-RB ont souvent le problème de désactivation catalytique en raison du dépôt de coke et du frittage thermique à haute température (> 700°C). L’obtention d’un catalyseur performant sous les conditions sévères de RSB et Tri-RB est crucial pour le déploiement de ces procédés à large échelle industrielle. Dans un premier temps, une étude sur la thermodynamique des procédés globaux de la production d’H2 via le reformage du biogaz a été effectuée. Les bilans de matière et d’énergie de ces procédés ont aussi été réalisés par la simulation sur Aspen Plus. Ensuite, différents catalyseurs à base de nickel supporté sur les supports d’hydroxyapatite (HAP) et d’hydroxyapatite substituée au Mg (Mg_HAP) ont été préparés et caractérisés. Les supports à base d’HAP sont considérés comme des nouveaux matériaux catalytiques qui ont des propriétés appropriées en catalyse hétérogène, en particulier pour des procédés à haute température tels que RSB et Tri-RB. Dans cette étude, les supports HAP ayant les rapports molaires de Ca/P de 1,55, 1,67 et 1,75, et Mg_HAP (substitution de 2,2, 5,8 et 8,5% de Ca par Mg) ont été synthétisés. Ces supports ont été dopés avec 5% en masse de Ni par imprégnation à sec. Ces catalyseurs ont été évalués dans les deux réactions de RSB et Tri-RB dans un réacteur à lit fixe. Une étude paramétrique sur l’influence des conditions opératoires incluant la température, la pression totale, le débit d’alimentation du biogaz, et le rapport molaire de la vapeur d’eau sur méthane (S/C) et d’oxygène sur méthane (O/C), a été effectuée. L’objectif a été de comparer et d’identifier les meilleurs catalyseurs et les meilleurs conditions opératoires. Les bilans de matières ont été établis. Les raisons de la désactivation catalytique ont été mises en évidence. Enfin, la stabilité catalytique des meilleurs catalyseurs a été étudiée pendant 150-300 h de réaction. Les résultats obtenus montrent que les catalyseurs à base de Ni supporté sur HAP ou Mg_HAP sont compétitifs par rapport aux meilleurs catalyseurs identifiés dans la littérature. Ce travail confirme également l’intérêt de l’utilisation des nouveaux supports à base d’HAP dans la catalyse hétérogène et en particulier dans les procédés à haute température
Biogas production worldwide is increasing steadily. The combustion to generate heat and electricity, and the biomethane production for injection into the city gas grid are currently the two major industrial applications of biogas. Current research on biogas valorization targets the production of high-value products such as hydrogen for transportation. This is the main objective of the VABHYOGAZ3 project funded by ADEME, which aims at deploying the production of H2 from biogas in the Tarn department, France. Biogas steam reforming, adopted by the industrial partners of the VABHYOGAZ3 project, is a commonly used process in the industry to reform natural gas, but it is a highly energy-consuming process. This PhD thesis aims to develop efficient catalysts for the Dry Reforming of Methane (DRM: conversion of CH4 and CO2 into syngas - mixture of CO and H2) and for the Tri-Reforming of Biogas (Tri-RB: conversion of CH4, CO2, H2O and O2 into syngas). The ultimate goal was to optimize the energy efficiency of the overall process of H2 production through the reforming of biogas, which is essential to make the process economically viable. In fact, DRM and Tri-RB catalysts usually have the problem of catalytic deactivation due to coke deposition and thermal sintering at high temperature (> 700 °C). Obtaining an efficient catalyst under severe conditions of DRM and Tri-RM is crucial for the deployment of these processes at large industrial scale. First, a study on the thermodynamics of the overall processes for H2 production via the reforming of biogas was carried out. Mass and energy balances of these processes were also obtained by ASPEN simulation. Then, various nickel-based catalysts supported on hydroxyapatite (HAP) and on hydroxyapatite substituted with Mg (Mg_HAP) were prepared and characterized. HAP-based supports are considered to be new catalytic materials which have suitable properties for heterogeneous catalysis, in particular for high temperature processes such as DRM and Tri-RM. In this study, HAP supports having the Ca/P molar ratio of 1.55, 1.67 and 1.75, and Mg_HAP (substitution of 2.2, 5.8 and 8.5 % of Ca with Mg) have been synthesized. These supports were doped with 5 wt.% of Ni by incipient wetness impregnation method. These catalysts were evaluated for both DRB and Tri-RB reactions in a fixed bed reactor. A parametric study on the influence of operating conditions including temperature, total pressure, biogas feeding rate, and molar ratio of steam to methane (S/C) and oxygen to methane (O/C), has been performed. The objective was to compare and identify the best catalysts and the best operating conditions. Mass balances have been established experimentally. Catalytic deactivation has been discussed and evidenced. Finally, the stability of the best catalysts was studied for a long reaction time of 150-300 h, and catalyst regeneration was also performed. This work shows that Ni-based catalysts supported on HAP or on Mg_HAP are competitive to the best catalysts identified in the literature. This work also confirms the interest of the use of new HAP-based supports in heterogeneous catalysis and particularly in high temperature processes

碩士
國立中央大學
能源工程研究所
106
The present study investigates about the deactivation of catalyst during the fast pyrolysis of biomass. A mixture of spruce and pine was used as the feedstock. The simulations were carried out using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.3. The study aims to determine the behavior of deactivation on various operating parameters or conditions: different temperature (773, 823, and 873 K) and fluidizing gas velocity (0.4, 0.5, and 0.6 m/s). The mode of deactivation considered in this study was due to carbon deposition or fouling, blockage of the pore of the catalyst due to coke deposits on the surface of the catalyst that prevents the reactants to flow through its active sites, thus, decreasing the activity of the catalytic conversion process. The results showed that at high temperature the deactivation occurs rapidly for the porosity decreases the most at the said condition. Gas velocity greatly affects the time on stream of the species which also affects the deactivation of the catalyst as also mentioned by other researchers. The average porosity along the centerline of the catalyst bed at 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6 m/s is about 0.49, 0.483, and 0.498, respectively. Although, when the whole surface of the catalyst bed was considered, it is noticeable that the least gas velocity suffered from deactivation more than that of with high fluidizing gas velocity which means that the catalyst has the least carbon deposits on the catalyst bed. In conclusion, the catalyst gathered carbon deposits more at high temperature and at low fluidizing gas velocity and with that said, catalyst will deactivate further at this condition. Note that the value of the product should also be considered when performing catalytic biomass fast pyrolysis.

Trace amounts of carbon monoxide, typically as low as 10 ppm CO, have a deleterious effect on the activation overpotential losses in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. This is because CO preferentially adsorbs on the Pt electrocatalyst at the anode at typical PEM fuel cell operating temperatures, thereby preventing the absorption and ionisation of hydrogen. The inability of current preferential oxidation steps to completely remove CO from hydrogen-rich gas streams has stimulated research into CO tolerant anodes. As opposed to other CO oxidation catalysts, metal oxide supported gold catalysts have been shown to be active for the afore mentioned reaction at low temperatures, making it ideal for the 80°C operating temperatures of PEM fuel cells. The objective of this study was to investigate the viability of incorporating titanium dioxide supported gold (Au/TiO2) catalysts inside a PEM fuel cell system to remove CO to levels low enough to prevent poisoning of the Pt-containing anode. Two distinct methods were investigated. In the first method, the incorporation of the said Au/TiO2 catalyst inside the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of a PEM fuel cell for the selective/preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide in hydrogen-rich gas fuels, facilitated by the injection of an air bleed stream, was investigated. It was important for this study to simulate typical fuel cell operating conditions in an external CO oxidation test rig. Factors such as gold loading, oxygen concentration, temperature, pressure, membrane electrode assembly constituents, water formation, and selectivity in hydrogen-rich gas streams, were investigated. The Au/TiO2 catalysts were prepared via deposition-precipitation, a preparation procedure proven to yield nano-sized gold particles, suggested in literature as being crucial for activity on the metal oxide support. The most active catalysts were incorporated into the MEA and its performance tested in a single cell PEM fuel cell. The catalysts proved to yield exceptional activity for all test conditions inside the CO oxidation test rig. However, no significant improvement in CO tolerance was observed when these catalysts were incorporated into the MEA. It was concluded that the thin bilayer configuration resulted in mass transfer and contact time limitations between the catalysts and the simulated reformate gas mixture. Other factors highlighted as possible causes of deactivation included the deleterious effect of the acidic environment in the fuel cell, the formation of liquid water on the catalyst’s surface, and the adverse effect of the organic MEA constituents during the MEA production procedure. The second method investigated was the incorporation of the Au/TiO2 catalyst in an isolated catalyst chamber in the hydrogen feed line to the fuel cell, between the CO contaminated hydrogen gas cylinder and the anode humidifier. Test work in a CO oxidation test rig indicated that with this configuration, the Au/TiO2 catalysts were able to remove CO from concentrations of 2000 ppm to less that 1.3 ppm at a space velocity (SV) of 850 000 ml.gcat -1.h-1 while introducing a 2 per cent air bleed stream. Incorporation of this Au/TiO2 preferential oxidation system into a Johnson Matthey single cell PEM fuel cell test station prevented any measurable CO poisoning when 100 and/or 1000 ppm CO, 2 per cent air in hydrogen was introduced to a 0.39 mg Pt.cm-2 Pt/C anode. These results were superior compared to other state of the art CO tolerance technologies. An economic viability study indicated that the former can be achieved at a cost of gold equal to 0.8 per cent of the USDoE target cost of $45/kW. This concept might allow fuel cells to operate on less pure hydrogen-rich gas, e.g. from H2 that would be stored in a fuel tank/cylinder but that would have some CO contamination and would essentially be dry. The use of less pure H2 should allow a cost incentive to the end user in that less pure H2 can be produced at a significantly lower cost.