Preparation of Iron Carbides Formed by Iron Oxalate Carburization for Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis

oleh: Xiazhen Yang, Hong Zhang, Yingxin Liu, Wensheng Ning, Wenfeng Han, Huazhang Liu, Chao Huo

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2019-04-01

Deskripsi

Different iron carbides were synthesized from the iron oxalate precursor by varying the CO carburization temperature between 320 and 450 &#176;C. These iron carbides were applied to the high-temperature Fischer&#8211;Tropsch synthesis (FTS) without in situ activation treatment directly. The iron oxalate as a precursor was prepared using a solid-state reaction treatment at room temperature. Pure Fe<sub>5</sub>C<sub>2</sub> was formed at a carburization temperature of 320 &#176;C, whereas pure Fe<sub>3</sub>C was formed at 450 &#176;C. Interestingly, at intermediate carburization temperatures (350&#8211;375 &#176;C), these two phases coexisted at the same time although in different proportions, and 360 &#176;C was the transition temperature at which the iron carbide phase transformed from the Fe<sub>5</sub>C<sub>2</sub> phase to the Fe<sub>3</sub>C phase. The results showed that CO conversions and products selectivity were affected by both the iron carbide phases and the surface carbon layer. CO conversion was higher (75&#8211;96%) when Fe<sub>5</sub>C<sub>2</sub> was the dominant iron carbide. The selectivity to C<sub>5</sub><sup>+</sup> products was higher when Fe<sub>3</sub>C was alone, while the light olefins selectivity was higher when the two components (Fe<sub>5</sub>C<sub>2</sub> and Fe<sub>3</sub>C phases) co-existed, but the quantity of Fe<sub>3</sub>C was small.