Effect of the introduction of certain additives to the CO + H2 mixture and the scheme for the formation of alcohols higher than C1

The effect of additions of certain alcohols (methanol, ethanol, 2-propanol, and 2-butanol) to the synthesis gas on the distribution of the products during the hydrogenation of CO to alcohols at zinc-chromium oxide catalysts, promoted by various amounts of K2O, was studied. The results demonstrate the fundamental applicability of the principal theories of chain growth proposed by other authors for copper-containing catalysts. However, it was shown that the probability of α-addition is lower while that of β-addition is higher at the zinc-chromium-potassium catalysts than at copper-containing catalysts, and the calculated amounts of isobutanol obtained from the data for ethanol and propanols do not agree with the experimental data. It was found that there is an isomeric transition from the secondary alcohols (2-propanol, 2-butanol) to the primary alcohols at the surface of the catalyst, and this can evidently change the “normal” course of chain growth in the alcohols. It can be concluded that the activity of the alcohol added to synthesis gas in reaction with other C-fragments present on the surface of the catalyst increases with increase in the number of carbon atoms in the alcohol.