Purification Influence of Synthesis Gas Derived from Methanol Cracking on the Performance of Cobalt

Synthesis gas derived from methanol cracking (SGMC) was applied as simulating feedstock of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) in laboratory. With MS and GC detector, a trifle of sulfur compounds,a small amount of oxygenates including H2O, CH3OH, DME and CO2 as well as a few of low carbon alkanes were found in the SGMC. After purification, the sulfur compounds, H2O, CH3OH and DME could be eliminated efficiently from the SGMC while CO2 and the low carbon alkanes were partly removed.When the unpurified SGMC, the desufurized SGMC and the totally purified SGMC were sequentially applied in cobalt-based FTS, the catalytic performance of Co/ZrO2/SiO2 catalyst was gradually improved corresponding to the degree of purification. The untreated SGMC led to the serious deactivation of the cobalt catalyst, the partially treated SGMC slowed down the deactivation rate and the totally purified SGMC resulted in little deactivation of the catalyst, which was similar to what the pure synthesis gas(the mixture of pure H2 and CO) did. The results indicated that the SGMC should be purified and the purification course used in this paper was effective for the SGMC. Furthermore, the totally purified SGMC could substitute for the pure synthesis gas in cobalt FTS.