Production of short-chain alcohols by CO hydrogenation using Cu/Nb₂O₅/Al₂O₃ catalysts

The production of alcohols by hydrogenation of CO in the presence of a catalyst, normally Cu/ZnO/Al2O3, at pressures of 50-100 bar and temperatures in the range of 220 to 300 degrees C, is an important route for methanol production. In this scenario, a new catalyst was synthesized replacing ZnO by Nb2O5. This catalyst is a national raw material with semiconductor properties similar to zinc oxide, which has been little investigated so far. This research aims to evaluate the performance of the Cu/Nb2O5/Al2O3 catalyst in the hydrogenation reaction of CO for the production of short-chain alcohols, in particular or in methanol. The catalyst synthesis was made via wet impregnation, and followed the same proportion (% metric) of the commercial catalyst Hifuel R120 Cu/ZnO/Al2O3, with its specific composition in the following ratio 18,7/50,5/30,8, respectively. The catalyst was pelletized and characterized by the N-2 physisorption, X-Ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Programmed Temperature Desorption and Size Distribution by DLS techniques. Clinical trials were conducted at 250 degrees C and 40 bar, using a 2:1 mixture of H-2:CO (White Martins, 99%) in an experimental unit the liquid product were analyzed by gas chromatography and infrared spectroscopy Fourier transform (FTIR). The catalyst shows good results in the hydrogenation reaction of CO, producing mainly short chain alcohols, the catalyst performance was compared to Cu-ZnO-Al, synthesized in this work. In addition, the results that can be performed in the preparation of the catalyst or in the reaction conditions to select the most selected filter for methanol and obtain a greater change in the recording gas.