Enabling Process Intensification by 3D Printing of Catalytic Structures

摘要

Small-scale, intensified chemical reactors (i.e., process intensification) mediated by structured catalysts substantially diminishes the advantages of large-scale gas-to-liquid (transport fuels) process plants and can be realized at low capital costs, minimum energy consumption, and zero/small CO2 footprints. Current structured-catalysts approaches are complex and expensive; therefore, simple methods are crucial that are capable of depositing a desired geometry of catalysts into engineered channels. Herein, we developed printable composition by incorporating nickel and molybdenum ions into water-soluble PVA and starch; the subsequent pyrolysis of organic compounds resulted into three-dimensional carbon scaffold with micro/macro interconnected pores (d(pore), 6.5 angstrom; d(pore), 100 mu m) containing up to 25 wt% catalyst loading. 2D (TEM, SEM) and 3D (X-ray computed tomography) microstructural analyses and catalytic tests (conversion of syngas to alcohols) were performed for 3D printed catalysts and compared with conventional pelleted catalysts. At a high feed flow rate (6000 h(-1)), CO conversion is rapidly reduced to 16 mol% for pelleted catalysts, whereas 3D printed catalysts converted 35 mol% of CO, with the same catalyst loading.