(570r) Synthesis of Higher Alcohols From Syngas Over K Promoted Cu-Co-Zn Catalyst in Supercritial n-Hexane

Synthesis of higher alcohols, isobutanol in particular, from coal, biomass or natural gas via syngas has been attracting researchers' interest due to the potential for producing clean and high octane value fuels. Higher alcohols can be used as fuels, fuels additives and feed stock in chemical industry. Due to the exothermic nature of the reactions and kinetic restriction, the step from methanol to ethanol determines the rate of higher alcohols' formation. For the last two decades, there have been intensive researches centered on shifting the synthesis away from methanol and toward higher alcohols, including using modified catalysts, utilizing dual-bed reactor or slurry phase reactor. In this study, K-CuCo/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst was investigated for the synthesis of higher alcohols under a supercritical media of Hexane. The catalyst was prepared by coprecipitation method and evaluated in a fixed bed reactor. Catalytic performance was investigated with and without the supercritical hexane. We have observed that supercritical hexane has a significant effect on the syngas conversion and the selectivity towards higher alcohols.