Further Investigation into the Formation of Alcohol during Fischer Tropsch Synthesis on Fe-based Catalysts

The Fischer Tropsch (FT) synthesis is a complex polymerization reaction characterized by competing intermediates reaction steps. The various termination steps may result in the formation of different product classes, such as olefins, paraffins, alcohols, etc. While high synthesis gas conversion is important; a high selectivity is much desirable, which may result in.improved economics. This mechanistic study further elaborates on the elementary reaction steps for the formation of product compounds in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The effect of space velocity on the products distribution, particularly on the formation of oxygen containing organic product compounds was investigated. The reactions were carried out at industrially relevant conditions on Fe-based catalyst promoted with Cu, K and alumina. The resulting catalyst precursor was characterized using TPR, XRD, BET and SEM/EDX. The alcohol/hydrocarbon ratio remains fairly constant at very high space velocity (i.e. low conversion) where secondary reactions become insignificant. This implied primary formation of alcohols in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.