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# Shanghai Advanced Research Institute-led team steers syngas toward sustainable aviation fuel
- URL: https://research-pop.com/shanghai-advanced-research-institute-led-team-steers-syngas-toward-sustainable-aviation-fuel/
- Published: 2026-09-14T12:19:19.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T12:19:19.000Z
- Author: ResearchPOP
- Tags: Chemistry, Energy

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7c/5e/7c5e0911-739b-4a35-94eb-3e810bf78ba7/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-11-at-23.33.49.png)

**Source**: [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-77708-5](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-77708-5?ref=research-pop.com)

## At a glance

Fischer–Tropsch synthesis can turn syngas into liquid hydrocarbons and is an established route from feedstocks such as biomass to sustainable aviation fuel. The catalyst faces a linked challenge: raising carbon monoxide conversion does not necessarily place more products in the C8–16 jet-fuel range. A team led by the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences tackled both parts by mildly etching Beta zeolite and adding cobalt and manganese.

At 230 °C, 1.5 MPa and a weight hourly space velocity of 3,000 ml gcat−1 h−1, the optimized hierarchical CoMn/Beta-0.2 catalyst reached 82.8% CO conversion and 67.5% C8–16 hydrocarbon selectivity. Its C8–16 catalyst time yield was 1.96 g gCo−1 h−1, and activity and product distribution remained stable for more than 500 hours. These are measured fixed-bed results. Operando and in situ measurements support a structure in which metallic cobalt nanoparticles and isolated, partially oxidized manganese sites help activate syngas, while the zeolite's hierarchical pores and moderated acidity guide subsequent reactions toward the desired carbon range.

## Background

Fischer–Tropsch synthesis activates carbon monoxide and hydrogen at metal sites, then builds hydrocarbon chains. The conventional Anderson–Schulz–Flory distribution places a theoretical ceiling of about 41% on selectivity to C8–16 products. Bifunctional cobalt–zeolite catalysts can move beyond that pattern because cobalt supports chain formation and zeolite acid sites crack and isomerize heavier hydrocarbons. Balancing the functions is difficult. Strong metal–support interactions can limit cobalt reduction and dispersion, insufficient acidity leaves heavy wax, and excessive acidity can over-crack the products.

## Research question

The study asked whether pore architecture and acid strength could be adjusted together so that cobalt and manganese sites, mass transport and zeolite acidity jointly improve syngas conversion, C8–16 selectivity and stability. It also examined the working-state metal structure and how the formulation performed as shaped pellets and in process-scale models.

## Inside the study

The researchers treated commercial Beta zeolite with tetrapropylammonium hydroxide. The selected 0.2 M treatment created mesopores mainly between 3 and 12 nm, reduced the population of strong acid sites and largely retained the original balance between Brønsted and Lewis acidity. Cobalt and manganese were then introduced through impregnation and vacuum freeze-drying.X-ray diffraction and aluminium nuclear magnetic resonance indicated that the etched support retained its BEA crystal structure and largely preserved the framework aluminium environment. Its mesopore volume increased and the metal–support interaction weakened. Cobalt oxide particles on the modified support averaged about 12.1 nm and were smaller and more uniform than those on untreated Beta. The authors associate those changes with better cobalt accessibility and reducibility.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7c/5e/7c5e0911-739b-4a35-94eb-3e810bf78ba7/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-11-at-23.36.42.png)

**Fig. 1: Structural characterizations of supports and catalysts**

The untreated CoMn/Beta catalyst produced 61.4% CO conversion and 47.8% C8–16 selectivity. CoMn/Beta-0.2 raised the values to 82.8% and 67.5%, respectively, with a catalyst time yield of 1.96 g gCo−1 h−1 under the standard conditions. Pressure and temperature tests also showed the boundaries of that performance. Increasing pressure from 1.0 to 1.5 MPa raised C8–16 selectivity from 48.7% to 67.5%; higher pressure shifted products toward heavier fractions. At 250 °C, conversion exceeded 90%, while C8–16 selectivity fell to 54.1%.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7c/5e/7c5e0911-739b-4a35-94eb-3e810bf78ba7/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-11-at-23.37.13.png)

**Fig. 2: Catalytic performance.**

The catalyst was also tested with CO2-rich syngas. Across a broad range of CO2 concentrations, C8–16 selectivity remained high, while CO2 conversion was negligible. Under those conditions, CO2 mainly acted as a diluent; the experiment therefore shows tolerance to CO2 in the feed rather than conversion of CO2 into the reported products.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7c/5e/7c5e0911-739b-4a35-94eb-3e810bf78ba7/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-11-at-23.37.48.png)

**Fig. 3: Structure evolution of the active sites of the CoMn/β0.2 catalyst under FT reaction.**

In situ X-ray diffraction followed cobalt oxide as it reduced to metallic Co0\. Under reaction conditions, operando X-ray absorption spectra showed a persistent Co–Co coordination shell without a substantial Co–O contribution, supporting stable metallic cobalt nanoparticles. Manganese remained partially oxidized and predominantly Mn–O coordinated, with no detectable Mn–Mn or Mn–Co scattering path. The authors call this a Co0–isolated Mnδ+ dual-site configuration. A manganese-only catalyst had negligible activity, while cobalt without manganese produced moderate conversion, high methane selectivity and a low yield of the C8–16 fraction.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7c/5e/7c5e0911-739b-4a35-94eb-3e810bf78ba7/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-11-at-23.38.12.png)

**Fig. 4\. Investigation of the reaction mechanism.**

CO desorption and high-pressure infrared measurements indicated greater CO coverage and easier activation on the etched catalyst. Its apparent activation energy was 93.8 kJ mol−1, compared with 138.1 kJ mol−1 for CoMn on untreated Beta. Hydrogen–deuterium exchange and pulse hydrogenation experiments supported stronger hydrogen activation. Together, these results inform the authors' interpretation that manganese alters cobalt electronically and geometrically, increasing electron density and improving dispersion.

The zeolite's contribution was isolated in dual-bed experiments. A Fischer–Tropsch-active but non-acidic CoMn/SiO2 catalyst was paired with Beta supports that were acidic but inactive for syngas conversion. Adding either zeolite suppressed heavy hydrocarbons and moved products toward C8–16\. Etched Beta-0.2 produced the highest C8–16 selectivity and raised the isoparaffin share within the jet-fuel fraction to 30.9%, compared with 19.1% for untreated Beta.

Operando infrared spectra showed stronger alkyl CHx signals than formate or alkoxy signals. The authors propose that hydrogen-assisted CO dissociation occurs on Co0, followed by formation of CH2 species for chain growth and then isomerization and controlled cracking at zeolite acid sites.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7c/5e/7c5e0911-739b-4a35-94eb-3e810bf78ba7/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-11-at-23.38.21.png)

**Fig. 5: Industrial scale test of the CoMn/β0.2 catalyst for SAF synthesis.**

The researchers made the catalyst at kilogram scale and shaped it into cylindrical pellets. A pilot-scale fixed-bed reactor test used 10 g of shaped catalyst. Without tail-gas recycling, it delivered 67.3% CO conversion, 69.2% C8–16 selectivity and a C8–16 catalyst time yield of 2.537 g gCo−1 h−1\. At a tail-gas recycle ratio of three, overall CO conversion reached 92.4%, C8–16 hydrocarbons represented 78.9% of condensed liquid products, and the catalyst time yield reached 5.154 g gCo−1 h−1\. The 78.9% liquid-product share and the standard selectivity value use different bases.

The paper separately reports a 1,000-tonnes-per-year Fischer–Tropsch-to-jet-fuel pilot completed in 2025 using a similar catalyst system. The reported total CO conversion exceeded 92%, and jet-fuel selectivity exceeded 65%. This is distinct from the 10 g pellet test and does not show that the exact laboratory catalyst formulation ran at the larger scale.

The team used experimental catalytic data in an Aspen Plus model for a proposed 100,000-tonnes-per-year process based on biomass-derived syngas. The model covered gasification, syngas conditioning, Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, separation and fuel upgrading. Under a baseline of 8,000 operating hours per year, the techno-economic analysis estimated US$113.89 million in annual operating costs, US$302.43 million in annual SAF sales and about US$164.73 million in annual profit. Biomass represented 58.5% of operating cost, while the assumed SAF price had the largest effect on profitability. A coupled life-cycle model estimated approximately 80% lower greenhouse-gas emissions than conventional jet-fuel production. 

## Takeaways and outlook

The study combines hierarchical transport pathways, a Co0–isolated Mnδ+ working configuration and moderated acidity in one catalyst design. Laboratory measurements, more than 500 hours of testing and the 10 g shaped-pellet result provide a progression toward scale-up, while the separate pilot using a similar catalyst adds engineering context. Longer and larger trials with one fully specified formulation will be important, as will measured process data that can test assumptions about biomass cost, energy and hydrogen sources, fuel prices and life-cycle boundaries.

## About the researchers

Jian Han, Shenggang Li and Guofei Shen are the joint first authors. Yuhan Sun and Peng Gao are the corresponding authors. The research team includes members from the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility and Shanxi Research Institute of Huairou Laboratory.

## Original research

Jian Han; Shenggang Li; Guofei Shen; Wei Liu; Jian Zhang; Dong Fang; Bohui Ye; Yifan Sun; Haofan Wang; Xianni Bu; Chengguang Yang; Hao Wang; Haiyan Yang; Jiong Li; Yuhan Sun; Peng Gao. Efficient conversion of syngas into sustainable aviation fuel. Nature Communications, Article in Press, 2026\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77708-5](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77708-5?ref=research-pop.com). Published online 11 September 2026\. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0\. Images reproduced without modification.

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## Research POP Notes

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