Effect of Co-Feeding Inorganic and Organic Molecules in the Fe and Co Catalyzed Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis: A Review

This short review makes it clear that after 90 years, the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) process is still not well understood. While it is agreed that it is primarily a polymerization process, giving rise to a distribution of mainly olefins and paraffins; the mechanism by which this occurs on catalysts is still a subject of much debate. Many of the FT features, such as deactivation, product distributions, kinetics and mechanism, and equilibrium aspects of the FT processes are still subjects of controversy, regardless of the progress that has been made so far. The effect of molecules co-feeding in FTS on these features is the main focus of this study. This review looks at some of these areas and tries to throw some light on aspects of FTS since the inception of the idea to date with emphasis and recommendation made based on nitrogen, water, ammonia, and olefins co-feeding case studies.

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Product Distributions of Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis over Core-Shell Catalysts: The Effects of Diverse Shell Thickness

ChemistrySelect ◽

10.1002/slct.201801515 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 3 (44) ◽

pp. 12415-12423 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Zhipeng Tian ◽

Chenguang Wang ◽

Zhan Si ◽

Yachen Wang ◽

Lungang Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Shell Thickness ◽

Tropsch Synthesis ◽

Core Shell ◽

Fischer Tropsch ◽

Fischer Tropsch Synthesis ◽

Product Distributions

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Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis: Computational Sensitivity Modeling for Series of Cobalt Catalysts

Catalysts ◽

10.3390/catal9100857 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. 857 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Harrison Williams ◽

Muthu K. Gnanamani ◽

Gary Jacobs ◽

Wilson D. Shafer ◽

David Coulliette

Keyword(s):

Catalyst Support ◽

Tropsch Synthesis ◽

Cobalt Catalysts ◽

Polymerization Process ◽

Co2 Production ◽

Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor ◽

Fischer Tropsch ◽

Fischer Tropsch Synthesis ◽

Or Groups ◽

Significant Difference

Nearly a century ago, Fischer and Tropsch discovered a means of synthesizing organic compounds ranging from C1 to C70 by reacting carbon monoxide and hydrogen on a catalyst. Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) is now known as a pseudo-polymerization process taking a mixture of CO as H2 (also known as syngas) to produce a vast array of hydrocarbons, along with various small amounts of oxygenated materials. Despite the decades spent studying this process, it is still considered a black-box reaction with a mechanism that is still under debate. This investigation sought to improve our understanding by taking data from a series of experimental Fischer–Tropsch synthesis runs to build a computational model. The experimental runs were completed in an isothermal continuous stirred-tank reactor, allowing for comparison across a series of completed catalyst tests. Similar catalytic recipes were chosen so that conditional comparisons of pressure, temperature, SV, and CO/H2 could be made. Further, results from the output of the reactor that included the deviations in product selectivity, especially that of methane and CO2, were considered. Cobalt was chosen for these exams for its industrial relevance and respectfully clean process as it does not intrinsically undergo the water–gas shift (WGS). The primary focus of this manuscript was to compare runs using cobalt-based catalysts that varied in two oxide catalyst supports. The results were obtained by creating two differential equations, one for H2 and one for CO, in terms of products or groups of products. These were analyzed using sensitivity analysis (SA) to determine the products or groups that impact the model the most. The results revealed a significant difference in sensitivity between the two catalyst–support combinations. When the model equations for H2 and CO were split, the results indicated that the CO equation was significantly more sensitive to CO2 production than the H2 equation.

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