Effects of alkali promoters on the textural and catalytic properties of mesoporous Fe–Al–Cu catalysts for water gas shift reaction

Abstract

ABSTRACTMesoporous Fe2O3–Al2O3–CuO catalysts promoted with alkali oxides were synthesized and used in water gas shift reaction (WGSR) at high temperatures for hydrogen purification. These chromium-free catalysts were characterized using nitrogen adsorption/desorption, hydrogen temperature programmed reduction, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy techniques. The synthesized catalysts with narrow single-modal pore size distribution in mesopore region possessed high specific surface area. The catalytic results revealed that except Cs, the addition of other alkali promoters declined the catalytic activity. However, all catalysts showed higher catalytic performance than the conventional commercial catalyst. The results showed an optimum content of Cs promoter (3 wt.%) for the promoted Fe–Al–Cu catalyst (3 wt.% Cs-FAC), which exhibited the highest activity in WGSR at high temperature.