Effect of H2O on Cu-based catalyst in one-step slurry phase dimethyl ether synthesis

One-step dimethyl ether (DME) synthesis in slurry phase was catalyzed by a hybrid catalyst composed of a Cu-based methanol synthesis catalyst and a γ-Al₂O₃ methanol dehydration catalyst under reaction conditions of 260 °C and 5.0 MPa. It was found that instability of the Cu-based catalyst led to rapid deactivation of the hybrid catalyst. The stability of the Cu-based catalyst under DME synthesis conditions was compared with that under methanol synthesis conditions. The results indicated that harmfulness of water, which formed in DME synthesis, caused the Cu-based catalyst to deactivate at a high rate. Surface physical analysis, elemental analysis, XRD and XPS were used to characterize the surface physical properties, components, crystal structures and surface morphologies of the Cu-based catalysts. It was found that Cu⁰ was the active component for methanol synthesis and Cu₂O might have less activity for the reaction. Compared with methanol synthesis process, crystallite size of Cu became bigger in DME synthesis process, but carbon deposition was less severe. It was also found that there was distinct metal loss of Zn and Al caused by hydrothermal leaching, impairing the stability of the catalyst. In slurry phase DME synthesis, a part of Cu transformed into Cu₂(OH)₂CO₃, causing a decrease in the number of active sites of the Cu-based catalyst. And some ZnO converted to Zn₅(OH)₆(CO₃)₂, which caused the synergistic effect between Cu and ZnO to become weaker. Crystallite size growth of Cu, carbon deposition, metal loss of Zn and Al, formation of Cu₂(OH)₂CO₃ and Zn₅(OH)₆(CO₃)₂ were important reasons for rapid deactivation of the Cu-based catalyst.     

Methanol synthesis over a Zn-deposited copper model catalyst

Methanol synthesis by the hydrogenation of CO₂ over Zn-deposited polycrystalline Cu was studied using surface science techniques. The Zn sub-monolayer was oxidized by the reaction mixture during the reaction at 523 K, leading to the formation of ZnO species. The kinetic results definitely showed that the ZnO species on the Cu surface promoted the catalytic activity of methanol formation, where the activity of Cu increased by a factor of 6 at the Zn coverage of 0.17. A volcano-shaped curve was obtained for the correlation between the Zn coverage and the catalytic activity, which was very similar to the correlation curve between the oxygen coverage and the specific activity for methanol formation previously obtained for the Cu powder catalysts. The role of ZnO in Cu/ZnO based catalysts was ascribed to the stabilization of Cu⁺ species by the ZnO moieties on the Cu surface.     

The difference in the active sites for CO2 and CO hydrogenations on Cu/ZnO-based methanol synthesis catalysts

The effect of Zn in copper catalysts on the activities for both CO₂ and CO hydrogenations has been examined using a physical mixture of Cu/SiO₂+ZnO/SiO₂ and a Zn-containing Cu/SiO₂ catalyst or (Zn)Cu/SiO₂. Reduction of the physical mixture with H₂ at 573–723 K results in an increase in the yield of methanol produced by the CO₂ hydrogenation, while no such a promotion was observed for the CO hydrogenation, indicating that the active site is different for the CO₂ and CO hydrogenations. However, the methanol yield by CO hydrogenation is significantly increased by the oxidation treatment of the (Zn)Cu/SiO₂ catalyst. Thus it is concluded that the Cu–Zn site is active for the CO₂ hydrogenation as previously reported, while the Cu–O–Zn site is active for the CO hydrogenation.     

The effect of ZnO in methanol synthesis catalysts on Cu dispersion and the specific activity

The effect of ZnO in Cu/ZnO catalysts prepared by the coprecipitation method has been studied using measurements of the surface area of Cu, the specific activity for the methanol synthesis by hydrogenation of CO₂, and XRD. Although the Cu surface area increases with increasing ZnO content (0–50 wt%) as is generally known, the specific activity of the Cu/ZnO catalysts with various weight ratios of Cu:ZnO is greater than that of a ZnO-free Cu catalyst. These facts clearly indicate that the role of ZnO in Cu/ZnO catalysts can be ascribed to both increases in the Cu dispersion and the specific activity. The XRD results indicate the formation of a Cu–Zn alloy in the Cu particles of the Cu/ZnO catalysts, leading to the increase in specific activity. It is thus considered that the Cu–Zn surface alloy or a Cu–Zn site is the active site for methanol synthesis in addition to metallic copper atoms that catalyze several hydrogenation steps during the methanol synthesis. Furthermore, the advantage of the coprecipitation method through a precursor of aurichalcite is ascribed to both improvements in the Cu surface area and the specific activity. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Methanol synthesis from carbon dioxide at atmospheric pressure over Cu/ZnO catalyst. Role of methoxide species formed on ZnO support

Methanol synthesis from CO₂ and H₂ was carried out over a Cu/ZnO catalyst (Cu/Zn = 3/7) at atmospheric pressure, and the surface species formed were analyzed by diffuse reflectance FT-IR spectroscopy and temperature programmed desorption method. Two types of formate species and zinc methoxide were formed in the course of the reaction. Zinc methoxide was readily hydrolyzed to methanol. H₂O formed through the reverse water gas shift reaction was suggested to be involved in the hydrolysis of zinc methoxide.     

Creation of the active site for methanol synthesis on a Cu/SiO2 catalyst

The effect of ZnO/SiO₂ in a physical mixture of Cu/SiO₂ and ZnO/SiO₂ on methanol synthesis from CO₂ and H₂ was studied to clarify the role of ZnO in Cu/ZnO-based catalysts. An active Cu/SiO₂ was prepared by the following procedure: the Cu/SiO₂ and ZnO/SiO₂ catalysts with a different SiO₂ particle size were mixed and reduced with H₂ at 523-723 K, and the Cu/SiO₂ was then separated from the mixture using a sieve. The methanol synthesis activity of the Cu/SiO₂ catalyst increased with the reduction temperature and was in fairly good agreement with that previously obtained for the physical mixture of Cu/SiO₂ and ZnO/SiO₂. These results indicated that the active site for methanol synthesis was created on the Cu/SiO₂ upon reduction of the physical mixture with H₂. It was also found that ZnO itself had no promotional effect on the methanol synthesis activity except for the role of ZnO to create the active site. The active site created on the Cu/SiO₂ catalyst was found not to promote the formation of formate from CO₂ and H₂ on the Cu surface based on in situ FT-IR measurements. A special formate species unstable at 523 K with an OCO asymmetric peak at ~1585 cm^-1 was considered to be adsorbed on the active site. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Study on deactivation of Cu–Zn–Al catalysts in the synthesis of N-ethylethylenediamine

The performance of a Cu–Zn–Al catalyst employed in the synthesis of N-ethylethylenediamine from ethylenediamine and ethanol was studied. The results showed that the activity of the Cu–Zn–Al catalyst decreased with time-on-stream. Fresh and deactivated catalysts were characterized by XRD, XPS, N₂ adsorption–desorption and TEM. It was found that the crystallite size of Cu and ZnO in the deactivated catalyst were much bigger than those for the fresh catalyst. In addition, channels in the deactivated catalyst were blocked by carbonaceous deposits, so the surface area and pore volumes of the deactivated catalyst were much smaller than in the fresh catalyst. Therefore, it was concluded that the deactivation of the Cu–Zn–Al catalyst was mainly caused by the growth in the Cu and ZnO crystallite sizes and carbonaceous deposits.     

The promoting effect of alcohols in a new process of low-temperature synthesis of methanol from CO/CO2/H2

The catalytic promoting effects of eleven different alcohols, as reaction medium, on the synthesis of methanol from feed gas of CO/CO₂/H₂ on Cu/ZnO solid catalyst were investigated. Added alcohol altered the reaction route to realize a low-temperature synthesis method where formate was an intermediate. Many alcohols showed catalytic promoting effect for methanol formation at temperature as low as 443 K, remarkably lower than that in the present industrial ICI process.     

Cu/SiO2催化剂在醋酸甲酯加氢制乙醇反应中失活比较

采用固定床微型反应器考察Cu/ZnO和Cu/SiO₂催化剂在醋酸甲酯加氢制乙醇反应中的稳定性,分别反应1 000 h和750 h后,Cu/ZnO和Cu/SiO2催化剂均失活。采用物理吸附、DTG、原位XRD和H₂-TPR等对失活前后Cu/ZnO和Cu/SiO₂催化剂进行比较。结果表明,Cu/ZnO和Cu/SiO₂催化剂在醋酸甲酯加氢制乙醇反应中失活机理不同,Cu/ZnO 催化剂失活的主要原因是Cu晶粒长大,催化剂上ZnO晶粒同时长大;Cu/SiO₂催化剂失活主要原因是积炭物种对催化剂孔道的堵塞和对活性位的覆盖。     

Preparation of Cu/ZnO/M2O3 (M = Al, Cr) Catalyst to Stabilize Cu/ZnO Catalyst in Methanol Dehydrogenation

ZnO reducibility in three component catalysts was monitored in a methanol stream by a microbalance. The ZnO in the Cu/ZnO is reduced in the methanol stream from ca 500 K, but the addition of a third component to Cu/ZnO can suppress the reduction of ZnO. The Cu/ZnO/Cr₂O₃ prepared from a hydrotalcite-like precursor shows high stability in methanol dehydrogenation. The high stability of Cu/ZnO/Cr₂O₃ is due to the stabilization of ZnO by formation of ZnCr₂O₄ even in the reduced condition.     

Liquid phase methanol and dimethyl ether synthesis from syngas

The Liquid Phase Methanol Synthesis (LPMeOH^TM) process has been investigated in our laboratories since 1982The reaction chemistry of liquid phase methanol synthesis over commercial Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalysts, established for diverse feed gas conditions including H₂-rich, CO-rich, CO₂-rich, and CO-free environments, is predominantly based on the CO₂ hydrogenation reaction and the forward water-gas shift reactionImportant aspects of the liquid phase methanol synthesis investigated in this in-depth study include global kinetic rate expressions, external mass transfer mechanisms and rates, correlation for the overall gas-to-liquid mass transfer rate coefficient, computation of the multicomponent phase equilibrium and prediction of the ultimate and isolated chemical equilibrium compositions, thermal stability analysis of the liquid phase methanol synthesis reactor, investigation of pore diffusion in the methanol catalyst, and elucidation of catalyst deactivation/regenerationThese studies were conducted in a mechanically agitated slurry reactor as well as in a liquid entrained reactorA novel liquid phase process for co-production of dimethyl ether (DME) and methanol has also been developedThe process is based on dual-catalytic synthesis in a single reactor stage, where the methanol synthesis and water gas shift reactions takes place over Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalysts and the in-situ methanol dehydration reaction takes place over -Al₂O₃ catalystCo-production of DME and methanol can increase the single-stage reactor productivity by as much as 80%. By varying the mass ratios of methanol synthesis catalyst to methanol dehydration catalyst, it is possible to co-produce DME and methanol in any fixed proportion, from 5% DME to 95% DMEAlso, dual catalysts exhibit higher activity, and more importantly these activities are sustained for a longer catalyst on-stream life by alleviating catalyst deactivation.     

The synergy between Cu and ZnO in methanol synthesis catalysts

The hydrogenation of CO₂ over physically-mixed Cu/SiO₂ and ZnO/SiO₂ was carried out to clarify the synergetic effect between Cu and ZnO in Cu/ZnO methanol synthesis catalysts. The activity of the physical mixtures significantly increased with increasing reduction temperature in the range of 573–723 K. TEM-EDX results definitely showed that ZnO_x moieties migrated from ZnO/SiO₂ particles onto the surface of Cu particles when the physical mixtures were reduced at high temperatures above 573 K. Upon the migration of the ZnO_x species, the oxygen coverage on the surface of Cu, measured after the hydrogenation of CO₂, increased with the reduction temperature. The results clearly showed that the synergetic effect of ZnO in the physical mixtures can be ascribed to the creation of active sites such as Cu⁺ which the ZnO_x moieties stabilize on the Cu surface. Further, XRD results showed that the migrated ZnO_x species partly dissolved into the Cu particles to form a Cu—Zn alloy.     

Evidence for the migration of ZnOx in a Cu/ZnO methanol synthesis catalyst

The behavior and role of ZnO in Cu/ZnO catalysts for the hydrogenations of CO and CO₂ were studied using XRD, TEM coupled with EDX, TPD and FT-IR. As the reduction temperature increased, the specific activity for the hydrogenation of CO₂ increased, whereas the activity for the hydrogenation of CO decreased. The EDX and XRD results definitely showed that ZnO _x (x = 0–1) moieties migrate onto the Cu surface and dissolve into the Cu particle forming a Cu-Zn alloy when the Cu/ZnO catalysts were reduced at high temperatures above 600 K. The content of Zn dissolved in the Cu particles increased with reduction temperature and reached 18% at a reduction temperature of 723 K. The CO-TPD and FT-IR results suggested the presence of Cu⁺ sites formed in the vicinity of ZnO _x on the Cu surface, where the Cu⁺ species were regarded as an active catalytic component for methanol synthesis.     

Pd/ZnO催化剂上甲醇水蒸气重整制氢

研究了并流共沉淀法制备的Pd/ZnO催化剂上的甲醇水蒸气重整制氢反应.考察了钯含量、还原温度、反应温度、重时空速（WHSV）和水-甲醇摩尔比（水醇比）对反应的影响.研究结果表明,当钯质量分数为15.9%,反应温度为523～573 K,还原温度为523～573 K,水醇比为1.0～1.2,WHSV=17.2 h^-1时,反应具有较好的CH3OH转化率、CO₂选择性、H₂产率及较低的出口CO摩尔分数.与铜基催化剂相比,Pd/ZnO催化剂表现出较好的稳定性.     

Direct synthesis of dimethyl ether from carbon-monoxide-rich synthesis gas: Influence of dehydration catalysts and operating conditions

Various dehydration catalysts were studied in the synthesis of dimethyl ether (DME) directly from carbon-monoxide-rich synthesis gas under a series of different reaction conditions. The investigated catalyst systems consisted of combinations of a methanol catalyst (CuO/ZnO system) with catalysts for methanol dehydration based on γ-Al₂O₃ or zeolites and γ-Al₂O₃ was identified as the most favorable dehydration catalyst. Various reaction parameters such as temperature, H₂/CO ratio and space velocity were studied. The impact of water on Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃-γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts was investigated and no deactivation could be observed at water contents below 10% during running times of several hours. A running time of several days and a water content of 10% led to a significant increase of CO conversion but the water gas shift reaction became dominating and CO₂ was the main product. After termination of water feeding significant deactivation of the catalyst system was observed but the system returned to high DME selectivity. Catalyst stability and the influence of CO₂ in the gas feed were studied in experiments lasting for about three weeks. The presence of 8% of CO₂ caused an approximately 10% lower CO conversion and an about 5% lower DME selectivity compared to the reaction system without CO₂.     

Deactivation of Supported Copper Catalysts for Methanol Synthesis

Binary Cu/ZnO and Cu/Al₂O₃ as well as ternary Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalysts were investigated with respect to their catalytic activity and stability in methanol synthesis. In a rapid aging test, activity measurements were carried out in combination with the determination of the specific Cu surface area. A close correlation between the loss of catalytic activity and the decrease in specific Cu surface area was found due to sintering of the Cu particles. Differences in the deactivation behavior and the area-activity relationship of each catalyst system imply that the catalysts should be grouped in different classes.     

Promoting effect of an aluminum emulsion on catalytic performance of Cu-based catalysts for methanol synthesis from syngas

Copper-based catalysts modified with aluminum precursors having different morphologies for methanol synthesis were prepared and the effect of the addition of aluminum emulsion on the characteristics of the catalyst was studied by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) and differential thermal gravity (DTG). The experiment results show that the copper-based catalyst prepared by mixing a Cu-Zn precipitate with an amorphous aluminum emulsion prepared in advance by precipitating an aluminum salt with ammonia exhibits higher specific surface area and catalytic performance for methanol synthesis from synthesis gas. The catalysts thus prepared were found to have more (Cu,Zn)₂CO₃(OH)₂ phase, from which more Cu/Zn sosoloid was produced during calcination. More sosoloid phase produced and stronger synergy between Cu and ZnO were verified to enhance the activity of the catalyst for methanol synthesis.     

Hydrogenolysis of Dimethyl Maleate on Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 Catalysts

The gas‐phase hydrogenolysis of dimethyl maleate at 10 bar and 513 K was investigated over a series of co‐precipitated Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalysts. High copper surface areas were obtained with a molar Al content of 5 % in the catalysts. Upon variation of composition at fixed alumina content, copper surface areas increased until the molar ratio exceeded Cu/Zn = 2:1. At the given reaction conditions, dimethyl maleate was completely converted to dimethyl succinate, which further reacted to methanol, γ‐butyrolactone, tetrahydrofuran, and water over all catalysts. Initial deactivation of catalysts was mainly caused by a loss of copper surface area. The catalyst with a molar Cu/Zn ratio of 1:2 was found to be most active and stable under reaction conditions.     

用于低温液相合成甲醇的Cu/MgO/ZnO催化剂

采用并流共沉淀法制备了不同Cu:(Mg+Zn)及Mg:Zn摩尔比的铜基催化剂Cu/MgO/ZnO,用于低温液相甲醇的合成,并对比了Cu/ZnO及Cu/MgO催化剂,分析了催化剂中载体MgO的作用. 结果表明,MgO的引入有利于催化剂中Cu+的生成并均匀分散在载体中,可提高催化剂的催化活性. 以合成气CO+H2为原料,在443 K和5.0 MPa条件下,采用液体石蜡作溶剂,考察了催化剂的催化性能. 结果表明,Cu/MgO/ZnO催化剂的活性优于Cu/ZnO和Cu/MgO催化剂,且当Cu:Mg:Zn=2:1:1时催化性能最好,此时合成气中CO的转化率为63.56%,甲醇的选择性为99.09%,时空收率为5.413 mol/(kg×h). 分析了Cu/MgO催化剂在高温反应条件下的失活现象,认为铜烧结是其失活的主要原因.     

A new method of low-temperature methanol synthesis on Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalysts from CO/CO2/H2

A new synthesis method of low-temperature methanol proceeded on Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalysts from CO/CO₂/H₂ using 2-butanol as promoters. The Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalysts were prepared by co-impregnation of r-Al₂O₃ with an aqueous solution of copper nitrate and zinc nitrate. The total carbon turnover frequency (TOF), the yield and selectivity of methanol were the highest by using the Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalyst with copper loading of 5% and the Zn/Cu molar ratio of 1/1, which precursor were not calcined, and reduced at 493 K. The activity of the catalysts increased due to the presence of the CuO/ZnO phase in the oxidized form of impregnation Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalysts. The active sites of the Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalyst for methanol synthesis are not only metallic Cu but also special sites such as the Cu–Zn site, i.e. metallic Cu and the Cu–Zn site work cooperatively to catalyze the methanol synthesis reaction.