95/03468 Studies on Fischer-Tropsch synthesis over Fe-Cu-K catalyst. I. Catalytic performance

Abstract

The influence of reaction pressure, temperature, space velocity (GHSV), particle size of catalyst and H2/CO ratio of feed-gas on the steady-state product distribution, conversion of CO, H2 and syngas, olefin to paraffin ratio and CO2/ H2O ratio for FTS reaction were investigated using a coprecipitated copper- potassium promoted iron catalyst. The test was carried out in a fixed-bed reactor. Increasing the reaction temperature from 493. 2 to 5-13. 2 K shifted the hydrocarbon distribution toward the heavier hydrocarbons (C5-C23) and selectively increased CO conversion to CO2. The hydrocarbon distribution was found to be dependent on the H2/CO feed-gas ratio in the range from 1.23 to 2. 22. The CO2/H2O ratio in product decreased as the flow of feed-gas rate increased, which suggests that H2O is a primary product and its reaction with CO to form CO2 occurs via a secondary process. The CO conversion increased with the decrease of catalyst particle size from 10 to 60 mesh (2. 0-0. 3 mm), while the CO conversion changed very little as the particle size of the catalyst was further reduced to 60- 100 mesh (0. 3-0. 154 mm). The CO conversion increased with the increase of operating pressure. The pressure also affects CO2 selectivity and product distribution of FTS.