Search

A detailed kinetic model describing the consumption of key components and product distribution in the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) over a 20%Co/0.5Re γ‐Al2O3 commercial catalyst is developed. The developed model incorporates the H2O‐assisted CO dissociation mechanism developed by Rytter and Holmen and a novel approach to product distribution modeling. The model parameters are optimized against an experimental dataset comprising a range of process conditions: total pressure 2.0–2.2 MPa, temperature 210–230°C, CO conversion range of 10%–75% and feed with and without added water. The quality of the model fit measured in terms of mean absolute relative residuals (MARR) value is 23.1%, which is comparable to literature reported values. The developed model can accurately describe both positive and negative effects of water on the rate kinetics, the positive effect of water on the growth factor, temperature and syngas composition on the kinetics and product distribution over a wide range of process conditions, which is critical for the design and optimization of the Fisher–Tropsch reactors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of ash salts on Co-based Fisher–Tropsch catalysts was studied using an aerosol deposition technique. The major elements in the ash were found to be K, S and Cl. The ash was deposited on a calcined catalyst as dry particles with an average diameter of approx. 350 nm. The loading of ash particles was varied by varying the time of exposure to the particles in a gas stream. Catalyst characterization did not reveal significant differences in cobalt dispersion, reducibility, surface area, pore size, or pore volume between the reference and the catalysts with ash particles deposited. Activity measurements showed that following a short exposure to the mixed ash salts (30 min), there were no significant loss of activity, but a minor change in selectivity of the catalyst. Extended exposure (60 min) led to some activity loss and changes in selectivity. However, extending the exposure time and thus the amount deposited as evidenced by elemental analysis did not lead to a further drop in activity. This behavior is different from that observed with pure potassium salts, and is suggested to be related to the larger size of the aerosol particles deposited. The large aerosol particles used here were probably not penetrating the catalyst bed, and to some extent formed an external layer on the catalyst bed. The ash salts are therefore not able to penetrate to the pore structure and reach the Co active centers, but are mixed with the catalyst and detected in the elemental analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of K on 20%Co/0.5%Re/γ-Al2O3 Fischer–Tropsch catalysts with two different cobalt particle sizes (small, in the range 6–7 nm and medium size, in the range 12–13 nm) was investigated. The catalyst with the smaller cobalt particle size had a lower catalytic activity and C5+ selectivity while selectivities towards CH4 and CO2 were slightly higher than over the catalyst with larger particles. These effects are ascribed to lower hydrogen concentration on the surface as well as the lower reducibility of smaller cobalt particles. Upon potassium addition all samples showed decreased catalytic activity, reported as Site Time Yield (STY), increased C5+ and CO2 selectivities, and a decrease in CH4 selectivity. There was no difference in the effect of potassium between the sample with small cobalt particles compared to the sample with medium size particles). In both cases the specific activity (STY) fell and the C5+ selectivity increased in a similar fashion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]