Study of catalytic hydrogenation of CO₂

The present study is focused on the study of catalytic hydrogenation of CO₂ in gas phase on iron oxide catalysts, which were prepared by decomposition of ferric oxalate in air at high temperatures. The reaction was run at a low pressure of 1 bar and a temperature of 325 grad C in an Effi microreactor coupled with a gas chromatograph to detect reaction products. All prepared catalysts, unlike commercial Fe₂O₃, led to the conversion of CO₂ to CH₄. The by-products were CO and H₂O. The high temperature XRD showed different behavior of the catalysts in the reducing atmosphere of H₂, which corresponded to their different catalytic activity. This catalytic activity is demonstrably (based on XRD results) associated with the presence of the Fe₃C phase in the prepared catalysts. (authors)