Ethanol today is used as a high value fuel blend, over 95% of the gasoline in the United States contains at least 10% ethanol according to the Alternative Fuels Data Center. Currently there are two methods of producing ethanol, fermentation of sugars from corn and sugar cane and through hydration of petroleum-based ethylene. Fermentation, the predominant method, is expensive, consumes large amounts of energy and is land use intensive making it unfeasible to increase current production via this method. A possible solution could be using transition metals doped with promoters as catalyst to hydrogenate syngas and convert it into higher alcohols such as ethanol. Syngas can be readily obtained through the gasification of biomass, carbon dioxide reduction and reverse water gas shift of sequestered carbon dioxide. This study focuses on how surface modifications of a molybdenum phosphide system with Fischer-Tropsch metals and alkali metals can influence the activity and selectivity the catalyst displays towards the production of alcohols from syngas. Thus far molybdenum phosphide has shown promising results in producing methanol, tuning the surface with Fischer-Tropsch metals can promote C-C coupling reaction to produce longer chain alcohols. Three phases: CoMoP, CoP/MoP, CoMo, were successfully synthesized and tested for their selectivity towards alcohol production and their activity. Results obtained from a GC/MS suggest that all three catalyst had low activities with selectivities ranging from 10-28% for ethanol and methanol. The CoMo bimetallic phase proved to be the most selective and active of the three catalyst. Results also suggest a dynamic activation period exists in which the surface of the catalyst may have gone through some reconstruction. Further studies are required in order to fully determine what modification took place on the surface during the activation period which could lead to some insight as to why we observing the current results and how we may be able to improve.

Higher alcohol synthesis via Fischer-Tropsch metal surface modification of MoP catalyst

253rd National Meeting (2017)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.