Researchers from the groups of Prof. Raimund Horn from the Institute of Chemical Reaction Engineering at the Hamburg University of Technology and Prof. Jakob Albert from the Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry at the University of Hamburg shared their latest on a compact profile reactor for CO2 hydrogenation.
The compact profile reactor (CPR) design allows for the simultaneous acquisition of species, temperature, and spatially resolved reaction profiles during high-pressure CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. In this study, the reaction profile of In2O3/ZrO2 catalysts is compared to that of the state-of-the-art Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 (CZA) catalyst in a high-pressure CPR. It is demonstrated that the addition of nickel as a promoter significantly enhanced the catalytic activity of pure In2O3/ZrO2. The characterization by H2 TPR and CO2 TPD revealed an increased capacity for both hydrogen and CO2. A detailed comparison and optimization of reaction conditions using Ni–In2O3/ZrO2 as a catalyst are presented. In an optimized experiment, Ni–In2O3/ZrO2 produces 4.90 gMeOH gIn+Ni–1 h–1 at 275 °C, 50 bar, and 63,000 h–1 with a methanol selectivity of 73%. Furthermore, no catalyst deactivation caused by metal leaching or sintering could be observed over 90 h time on stream.
Kampe, P., Herrmann, N., Ruhmlieb, C., Finsel, M., Korup, O., Horn, R., Albert, J. (2024). Spatially Resolved Reaction Profiles of CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol Using In-Based Catalysts in a Compact Profile Reactor. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 12. (25), 9541−9549.
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c03279
