Bespoke catalysts for power-to-X
Using a synchrotron, scientists watch a power-to-X catalyst at work

Date:
July 8, 2020
Source:
Karlsruher Institut fu"r Technologie (KIT)
Summary:
Suitable catalysts are of great importance for efficient power-to-
X applications -- but the molecular processes occurring during
their use have not yet been fully understood. Using X-rays from a
synchrotron particle accelerator, scientists have now been able to
observe for the first time a catalyst during the Fischer-Tropsch
reaction that facilitates the production of synthetic fuels under
industrial conditions.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Suitable catalysts are of great importance for efficient power-to-
X applications -- but the molecular processes occurring during their
use have not yet been fully understood. Using X-rays from a synchrotron particle accelerator, scientists of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
(KIT) have now been able to observe for the first time a catalyst
during the Fischer-Tropsch reaction that facilitates the production of synthetic fuels under industrial conditions. It is intended to use the
test results for the development of bespoke power-to-X catalysts. The
team has published the results in the scientific journal Reaction &
Chemical Engineering.


==========================================================================
On the way to a CO2-neutral society, power-to-X processes (P2X),
i.e. processes that convert renewable energy into chemical energy
sources, support the interlocking of different sectors. For example,
synthetic fuels can be produced from wind or solar power, enabling climate-friendly mobility and goods transport without additional
greenhouse gas emissions. The Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS), which
is necessary for this purpose among other things, yielding long-chain hydrocarbons for the production of petrol or diesel from carbon monoxide
and hydrogen, is an established process in the chemical industry. However,
even though more than one hundred years have passed since the discovery
of this technology, the processes involved are still not fully understood scientifically: "This applies in particular to the structural changes
in the catalysts required for the process under industrial conditions,"
says Professor Jan-Dierk Grunwaldt from the Institute for Chemical
Technology and Polymer Chemistry (ITCP) of KIT. "During the reaction, undesirable by- products can be formed or disruptive structural changes
in the catalyst can occur. So far, it has not been explained sufficiently
how this happens exactly during the reaction and what the effects on the overall process are." In a transdisciplinary project, in cooperation
with P2X experts from the Institute for Micro Process Engineering (IMVT)
and the Institute of Catalysis Research and Technology (IKFT) of KIT,
the team has now achieved a breakthrough in understanding the FTS at the
atomic level. "For the analysis, we use methods of synchrotron research,
i.e. X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction," explains
Marc-Andre' Serrer (IKFT), one of the authors of the study. "This was the
first time that we were able to watch, so to speak, an FTS catalyst at
work at the atomic level under real process conditions." While catalytic reactions had already been studied beforehand with a synchrotron, a
special particle accelerator for generating particularly intense X-ray radiation, reactions that take place over a long period of time and
at high temperatures and pressures, as in real-time operation at a P2X facility, have so far presented an obstacle. For the experiment at KIT,
a novel high-pressure infrastructure has now been added to the CAT-ACT measuring line (CATalysis and ACTinide measuring line) designated for
catalyst studies at the KIT synchrotron. With this infrastructure --
which was built as part of the German Federal government's Kopernikus
projects for the energy turnaround -- it was possible to determine the
function of a commercial cobalt-nickel catalyst operando at 250 DEGC and
30 bar for more than 300 hours during the FTS. This was also the first
time that a sufficient quantity of hydrocarbons could be produced in
such an experiment that could be analyzed afterwards.

Catalyst development at the computer The experiment allowed the scientists
to identify hydrocarbon deposits that hinder the diffusion of the reactive gases towards the active catalyst particles. "In the next step, these
insights can be used to protect the catalyst specifically against these deactivation mechanisms," says Grunwaldt.

"This is done, for example, by modifying the catalyst with promoters, i.e.

substances that improve the properties of the catalyst." In the future,
the novel atomic understanding of catalytic reactions will contribute
to computer simulations for a fast, resource-saving and cost-effective development of bespoke catalysts for P2X processes.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Karlsruher_Institut_fu"r_Technologie_(KIT). Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. M. Loewert, M.-A. Serrer, T. Carambia, M. Stehle, A. Zimina,
K. F. Kalz,
H. Lichtenberg, E. Sarac,i, P. Pfeifer, J.-D. Grunwaldt. Bridging
the gap between industry and synchrotron: an operando study at 30
bar over 300 h during Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Reaction Chemistry
& Engineering, 2020; 5 (6): 1071 DOI: 10.1039/c9re00493a ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200708105921.htm

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