Study of Increasing Durability of Methanol Catalyst in Lurgi Process with Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Promoter

Methanol is an increasingly important chemical in the future. It is important that all aspect of the production is improved. The research will focus on improvement on the currently used catalyst in Lurgi Reactor for methanol synthesis by means of promoting the catalyst with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). It is found that after several years, the catalyst show sign of steady deterioration in chemical and mechanical properties. This project explore on the characteristics and potential of methanol, the findings and characteristics of carbon nanotubes and the suitability of carbon nanotubes as a catalyst support. The method explored is Electrodeposition of catalyst onto CNT via electrolysis with fixed ratio of chemicals as electrolyte and analyze the sample using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) with built-in Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX). The results show that catalyst nanoparticles are formed around the CNT in spherical shape. The size and shape reduce the specific surface area of the catalyst which increases the activity. The composition of the nanoparticles is of copper element as the main part, which provides the active site for the methanol synthesis in Lurgi process. With the CNT as the base of the catalyst deposition, the mechanical strength will increase.