Porous Carbon-Supported Cobalt Catalyst for CO Hydrogenation to Gasoline Range Hydrocarbons

Direct conversion of carbon monoxide into fuel through Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) is economically and environmentally beneficial as an alternative clean energy source. However, the activity and product selectivity need further investigation. In this work, a Co-MOF-71 (Co(1,4-BDC) (DMF)) was prepared solvothermally and pyrolyzed under nitrogen flow at low pyrolysis temperature to obtain a highly mesoporous Co@C-500 catalyst. The obtained catalyst exhibits high cobalt loading (53 wt%), high reducibility, optimum nanoparticle size (10.49 nm), and well-dispersed active sites. The catalytic activity of the catalyst was tested under different reaction conditions using a stainless steel fixed-bed reactor. The optimal performance showed a high CO conversion (82.7%), high C₅⁺ selectivity (82.77%) with C₅–C₁₂ gasoline range hydrocarbons (71.9%), low C₂–C₄ selectivity (13%), and low methane selectivity (3.7%). Furthermore, the catalyst has a high C₅⁺ yield of 68%, with the gasoline fraction (C₅–C₁₂) being the main product (59.1% yield). The catalyst shows superior FTS performance compared with other reported Co-containing catalysts, especially after being tested for more than 120 h without deactivation. Therefore, this work could contribute to the design of high-efficiency MOF-derived Co-FTS catalysts that could be used in the production of green and sustainable transportation fuel (gasoline).