FISCHER TROPSCH PLANT OF HOESCH
BENZIN A.G. AT DORTMUND, GERMANY
General Description of Plant.
This plant employed the medium-pressure Fischer-Tropsch process using cobalt catalyst. Synthesis gas was made by the usual procedure of manufacturing blue water gas from coke, followed by conversion of part of the carbon monoxide to hydrogen by a shift-catalyst in order to obtain the 2/1 ratio of hydrogen to carbon monoxide required for medium-pressure Fischer-Tropsch operation.
Synthesis gas production was at the rate of 900,000 to 1,000,000 m3 per day, and the average yield of primary product was 150 g. per m3. This means a total annual production rate of 50,000 metric tons of primary product, which is considerably less than 90,000 at which this plant was rated before the plant inspection was made on April 22nd 1945.
The water-gas plant, gas purification units, shift-catalyst conversion unit, and other equipment connected with production of the synthesis gas were all of the usual types encountered in Fischer-Tropsch plants and require no further description here.
The catalyst chamber house contained 68 catalyst chambers of the usual concentric double-tube design used in other medium-pressure Fischer-Tropsch plants. These chambers were operated in three stages with indirect coolers after each stage. Following the final stage, gas pressure was reduced and the gas passed through the usual active carbon chambers to remove C3 and C4 hydrocarbons. This plant did not have facilities for recirculation of the gas through any stage.