Promotion of CO2 hydrogenation to hydrocarbons in three-phase catalytic (Fe-Cu-K-Al) slurry reactors

A three-phase slurry reactor has been employed to increase the CO2 conversion and decrease the selectivity of CO in the direct hydrogenation of CO2 to hydrocarbons, as it is beneficial for removal of the heat generated due to highly exothermic nature of the reaction. Experiments were conducted over iron-based catalysts (Fe-Cu-K-Al, d(p)=45-75 pm) in a slurry reactor. It was found that the slurry reactor is preferable to the fixed bed reactor. The productivity and selectivity of hydrocarbons in the slurry reactor appeared to be better than that in the fixed bed reactor for the hydrogenation of CO2. The CO2 conversion was increased with increasing reaction temperature (275-300degreesC), pressure (1-2.5 MPa) or H-2/CO2 ratio (2-5) in the three-phase slurry reactor. The CO2 conversion was increased with increasing the amount of CO2 fed.