Catalyst Development, Characterization, and Evaluation

Catalyst Development Laboratory (CDL) for the Production, Small-Scale Production, and Characterizatin of Catalysts

The purpose of the Catalyst Development Laboratory is to produce Syngas Reforming, Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR), and other general types of catalysts for basic and applied research. The laboratory is capable of producing large amounts of catalyst for pilot-scale research and demonstrations as well as small quantities of catalyst, which are used for screening studies or more basic research.

The first step in the catalyst production process is to obtain the solution from which the desired catalyst is precipitated, in beakers or especially-designed pans and stirring beds for that purpose. Immediately following precipitation, the slurry is fed through a Mobile-Minor spray dryer, which has the flexibility to produce small particles for an FT-slurry or larger particles that might be used to form pellets. From the spray dryer, the catalyst balls are calcined in a vacuum oven, before being exposed to air.

Catalyst produced for syngas reforming processes can be used directly. Catalyst material produced for SCR processes must first be further processed before being impregnated onto the surface of either extruded or plate catalysts. In some cases, the SCR-type catalyst material may be precipitated directly onto the plate material and then calcined, thus skipping the step in the spray dryer.

Once the catalyst has been produced, the catalysts are characterized to determine the relevant properties of each catalyst produced. Activity testing is carried out in either of two facilities, depending on the type of the catalyst. SCR-type catalysts are characterized in the Catalyst Test Facility, which is also used for characterizing commercial SCR catalysts. Syngas Reforming catalysts are characterized in a reactor designed for combustible gases. Each catalyst is also examined analytically for a variety of different physical and chemical properties.

Physical and Chemical Analyses of the Catalyst Produced

Physical Properties

• Surface area and Pore size distribution - gas adsorption isotherms
• Attrition resistance -- ASTM D-5757 3-hole air-jet attrition test
• Surface morphology -- Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)

Bulk Chemical Properties

• Adsorption and desorption capacity -- Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and high-pressure TGA
• Phase and chemical state transition -- Differential thermal analysis (DTA) and scanning calorimetry (DSC)
• Reducibility and oxidizability -- Temperature programmed reduction (TPR) and oxidation (TPO)
• Chemical composition -- Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS)
• Structure identification and properties -- X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)

Surface Chemical Properties

• Acidity, basicity, and site density -- Temperature programmed desorption (TPD)
• Metal dispersion and metal site density -- Pulse chemisorption
• Surface species identification -- TPD coupled with mass selective detector (MSD)

For more detailed information on catalyst development and to discuss how Southern Research can help address your research needs, contact Dr. Thomas Gale at gale@southernresearch.org.

Catalyst Test Facility
Catalyst Development Laboratory