TITLE: Technology development for iron Fischer-Tropsch catalysis.  Quarterly technical progress report No. 2, January 1, 1995--March 31, 1995.

AUTHOR: B. H. Davis.

INST.  AUTHOR: Kentucky Univ. Research Foundation, Lexington.

SPONSOR: Department of Energy, Washington, DC.

LANGUAGE: English

PUB.  TYPE: Technical Report

PUB.  COUNTRY: United States

SOURCE: Department of Energy [DE],  2 May 95,  51p.

NTIS ORDER NO.: DE95016281INW

ABSTRACT:

The Fischer-Tropsch synthesis has been studied over the best low-alpha catalyst developed at the CAER. A wide range of synthesis gas conversions were obtained by varying the space velocity. The experimental results show that: (1) the rate of the water gas shift reaction is lower than the rate of the Fischer-Tropsch reaction at low conversions (< 60%) whereas it closely approaches the rate of the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis at high conversions, (2) the fraction of CO converted to hydrocarbons is higher at low and intermediate conversions whereas it is smaller at high conversions, (3) the H(sub 2)/CO ratio of the product gas is equal to the H(sub 2)/CO ratio of the inlet synthesis gas at an intermediate conversion level of 67%. These findings suggest that it would be beneficial to carry out the reaction at intermediate conversions. This would result in an optimum use of CO to produce hydrocarbons rather than CO(sub 2). High overall conversions can be obtained by either using a second reactor or recycling the product gas using a single reactor. If the intermediate conversion in a single pass is maintained at 67% there would be no need to adjust the H(sub 2)/CO ratio of the recycle stream or the feed to the second reactor as the product gas from a single pass would have the same H(sub 2)/CO ratio as the feed synthesis gas. The optimum reaction rate expression for synthesis gas conversion which has been developed for this catalyst shows that CO is strongly adsorbed on the catalyst and that the reaction products such as water and CO(sub 2) do not inhibit the reaction rate.

REPORT  NUMBER: DOE/PC/94055-T2

CONTRACT  NUMBER: AC22-94PC94055