Applied Catalysis A: General, Vol.306, 17-21, 2006
Discovery of new catalytic materials for the water-gas shift reaction by high-throughput experimentation
New Cu-free non-pyrophoric catalytic materials have been discovered for the water-gas shift reaction (WGSR) by high-throughput experimentation applying an evolutionary search strategy. Two approaches were applied for the design of experiments: (1) the amount of Cu in the composition was not restricted; as expected from common knowledge Cu containing catalysts were superior within the given parameter space. (2) By allowing only a maximum Cu content of 1 wt.% in the second approach new Cu-ftee materials were discovered. The new compositions contained mainly oxides of Cr or Fe along with Mn and Pt on ZrO2 as support material. A maximal activity for WGSR was achieved at 250 degrees C (CO conversion of 55%); the feed composition amounted to 3% CO, 37% H-2, 14% CO2, 23% H2O, Ar balance and the GSHV to 3000 h(-1). (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords:water-gas shift reaction;Cu catalysts;zirconia-supported catalysts;oxides of Cr;Fe;Mn and Pt as compounds for WGSR catalysts;genetic algorithm-based experimental design;high-throughput experimentation