Studying the Effect of Magnesium on the Activity of a Deep Oxidation Catalyst for a Fluidized Bed in Methane and CO Oxidation Reactions

Abstract

A comparative study is performed on the activity of industrial and laboratory samples of CuO/Al₂O₃, MgO-Cr₂O₃/Al₂O₃, CuO-Cr₂O₃/Al₂O₃, and CuO/Al₂O₃MgO-Cr₂O₃ catalysts under fluidized bed conditions in model CO and CH₄ oxidation reactions. For the combustion of gaseous fuels and gas mixtures (including low-percentage methane mixtures), aluminum–copper–magnesium–chromium catalysts are found to be the ones most promising. Studying their activity in the model reaction of methane oxidation while varying the content of magnesium in the composition of this catalytic system shows that the optimum magnesium content lies in the range of 1–2 wt %. The metals on the surfaces of these samples are found to be in the most stable states: Cu²⁺, Cr³⁺, Mg²⁺, and Al³⁺. The composition and textural and strength characteristics of the samples are studied by physicochemical means (BET, XPS, XRD, and X-ray fluorescence analysis).