The sol-gel derived Co-Mn/TiO2 catalysts for light olefins production

In this research work, two 30%(Co-Mn)/TiO2 catalysts were prepared using sol-gel (catalyst A) and co-precipitation (catalyst B) methods. The activity and selectivity to C2–4 light olefins in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) has been studied in a fixed-bed reactor under different operational conditions. These operational conditions were: temperature 220–280°C, and total pressure from 0.1–0.6 MPa. The optimum operating conditions were investigated after steady state. As the results shown, the catalyst A was more selective to C2–4 olefins (58.7% in 260°C) and catalyst B was more selective to C5+ hydrocarbons. Characterization of both catalysts was carried out by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and N2 adsorption-desorption measurements methods.