PATENT

3498. ----- [STANDARD OIL CO.]  Hydrocarbon Synthesis.  British Patent 634,882, 1950; appl. filed Sept. 3, 1947.  Fuel Abs., vol. 7, 1950, abs. 4896; British Abs., B, II, 1950, p. 1022.

In the fluid catalyst process for synthesizing hydrocarbons and oxygenated hydrocarbons from a feed gas containing CO and H₂ where the latter are forced into contact in a reaction zone with a fluidized bed of powdered Fe catalyst maintained at elevated temperature and pressure, the bed of catalyst is maintained in fluidized condition, as evidenced by a high heat transfer coefficient, by adding more coarsely ground Fe powder to the fluidized bed than that contained therein responsive to the tendency of the powdered Fe in the fluidized bed to disintegrate physically into particles of smaller particle size.