Prospective application of carbon-silica derived from SiC-Si sludge as a support for Fe catalysts

A unique carbon-silica (30 wt%) material was prepared by H2O activation at 700 °C for 8 h with the carbon derived from SiC-Si sludge and the in-situ hydrolysis of the SiCl4 trapped in the pores of the carbon into silica. The BET surface area of the carbon-silica was 1,750 m2/g and the pore volume by QSDFT was 1.13 cm3/g, 40% of which stemmed from micropores smaller than 2 nm with 60% from mesopores between 2 nm and 50 nm. The activated carbon-silica was loaded with Fe by means of chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) and incipient wetness impregnation (IWI). A hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction test showed that the activated carbon-silica is a prospective support material for Fe catalysts and that the dispersion of Fe in the carbon-silica is higher with CVI than with IWI.