Synthesis of light hydrocarbons from synthesis gas using bifunctional catalysts consisting of CuO–ZnO–Al2O3 methanol synthesis catalysts and SAPO-5 were investigated in a fixed bed reactor. The operating results showed that both the temperature and the ratio of CZA/SAPO-5 influenced the CO conversion and the selectivity of the catalysts. The effects of different dehydration component such as HZSM-5, HMOR and SAPO-5 and subsequently the impact of the zeolite acidity on the catalytic performance were also investigated. Experimental results indicated that zeolites in bifunctional catalysts played the crucial role for the distribution of hydrocarbons, and SAPO-5 was superior to the other zeolites in terms of better conversion and C3–C5 selectivity due to its suitable topology and proper acidic property. The efficiency of the CZA/SAPO-5 catalysts was found to be directly proportional to the Brönsted acid sites density of the zeolite and Brönsted acid sites are the likely zeolite active sites for DME dehydration. High time–space yield (461.6 mg mL−1 h−1) and high selectivity (88.1%) of light hydrocarbons (C3–C5) could be achieved on the CZA/SAPO-5-0.4 catalyst at 290 °C.

The synthesis of light hydrocarbons from syngas has received great attention due to the environmentally benign characteristics and uses as clean fuels and raw chemical feedstock of C3–C5 hydrocarbons. In this work, the synthesis of C3–C5 hydrocarbons was carried out over hybrid catalysts of Cu–Zn–Al/Co–Hβ at low reaction temperature (290°C). Introduction of minor amount of Co significantly promoted the yield of C3–C5 hydrocarbons. When the weight percentage of Co in Co–Hβ was 0.113wt.%, Cu–Zn–Al/Co–Hβ showed the best performance. This study will contribute to the development of efficient catalysts for production of hydrocarbons from syngas.