A multi-parametric catalyst screening for CO2 hydrogenation to ethanol

Year: 2021

Bibliography

A. Goryachev, A. Pustovarenko, G. Shterk, N. S. Alhajri, A. Jamal, M. Albuali, L. van Koppen, I. S. Khan, A. Russkikh, A. Ramirez, T. Shoinkhorova, E. J. M. Hensen and J. Gascon. ChemCatChem 13 (2021) 3324-3332. A multi-parametric catalyst screening for CO2 hydrogenation to ethanol

Abstract

The direct hydrogenation of CO2 to higher alcohols has the potential to turn the main contributor of global warming into a valuable feedstock. However, for this technology to become attractive, more efficient and, especially, selective catalysts are required. Here we present a high throughput study on the influence of different promoters on the CO2 hydrogenation performance of Rh-SiO2 catalysts. Fe and K promoters were found to improve ethanol selectivity at the expense of undesired CH4. The best-performing catalyst, with a composition 2 wt.% K, 20 wt.% Fe, and 5 wt.% Rh, displays an EtOH selectivity of 16% at CO2 conversion level of 18.4% and CH4 selectivity of 46%. The combination of different characterization techniques and catalyst screening allowed us to unravel the role of each catalyst component in this complex reaction mechanism.