Fischer-Tropsch Research Articles

Impact of Industrial Heat Exchanger on Flow Regime Identification in Bubble and Slurry Bubble Columns for Fischer Tropsch Application

Impact of Industrial Heat Exchanger on Flow Regime Identification in Bubble and Slurry Bubble Columns for Fischer Tropsch Application

Availability of Employing Biomass Resources From Forest Residues for Bioenergy Production in Ethiopia

The urgency of addressing environmental challenges has become more apparent than ever in recent years. Using existing renewable resources and reducing environmental impacts is critical for boosting economic growth and sustainable development. Ethiopia has limited access to modern bioenergy because of insufficient biomass data and policy gaps. This study estimated the theoretical potential of forest residue biomass resources for modern bioenergy production in Ethiopia. A combination of forest statistics data, publicly available data, literature models, and standard procedures was utilized. Ethiopia generates approximately 16.4 million dry tons of recoverable forest residue biomass each year. This indicates that the theoretical energy potential of forest residue available in Ethiopia is about 1.8–4.93 billion liters of ethanol each year, equivalent to 172%–469% of the country’s gasoline consumption. Alternatively, the same amount of residue could generate 1.23–3.29 billion liters of biodiesel (biomass to Fischer–Tropsch) each year, accounting for 40%–107% of the country’s biodiesel consumption. The theoretical estimations also show that the recoverable forest residues have the potential to produce about 12.7–34 TWh of electricity. This could significantly improve remote rural household electrification while decreasing the country’s reliance on fuel wood biomass for traditional biofuels by 26%. The findings indicate that generating modern bioenergy from forest biomass residue has the potential to contribute to Ethiopia’s energy mix, boost rural power access, and open new avenues for socioeconomic development. Finally, it can be concluded that the study findings reported in this study are useful to energy professionals, researchers, and policymakers interested in biomass fuel.

Design of a novel porous Fe2O3 cage catalyst for the production of gasoline fuels via coupling Fischer–Tropsch with zeolite cracking

A novel Fe2O3 cage catalyst with a hierarchical porous structure is designed and physically mixed with porous ZSM5. In particular, Fe + ZSM5(27) demonstrates prominent catalytic performance.

Heat transfer intensification in compact tubular reactors with cellular internals: A pilot-scale assessment of highly conductive packed-POCS with skin applied to the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis

Heat management poses severe constraints when designing non-adiabatic multi-tubular packed-bed reactors for strongly exothermic or endothermic catalytic processes. The exploitation of conduction in the solid matrix of engineered continuous internals (e.g., honeycomb monoliths, open-cell foams, periodic open-cell structures) as a heat transfer mechanism alternative, or possibly additional, to fluid-phase convection, is a promising strategy to relax some of these constraints, offering new opportunities for the intensification of catalytic reactors. Preliminary experimental data and modelling studies show that this is particularly true for compact-scale applications, when conductive internals are packed with catalyst micro-pellets. In this work, through pilot-scale testing, we show that overall heat transfer coefficients as high as 1300 W/m2/K can be achieved in periodic open-cell structures (POCS) made of a highly conductive aluminium alloy, 3D printed with an external continuous skin and packed with 300–400 μm catalyst micro-pellets. To this aim, a Fischer-Tropsch experimental campaign has been carried out in a pilot-scale rig, using an established 20 wt% Co/Al2O3 catalyst formulation and a tubular reactor (28.80 mm I.D., 20 cm catalyst bed length) externally cooled with an isothermal diathermic oil. Thanks to the outstanding heat transfer properties of the packed-POCS reactor, by progressively increasing the oil temperature from 180 °C to 225 °C, once-through CO conversions as high as 70 % have been measured at gas hourly space velocities exceeding 4000 cm3(STP)/h/gcat, resulting in C5+ yields in excess of 0.35 g/h/gcat, with a CH4 selectivity always below 15 %. Such performances, made possible by the intensified heat management granted by the adopted reactor internals, are among the best ever reported for a compact-scale Fischer-Tropsch tubular reactor.

Efficient catalyst regeneration through solvent-based wax extraction for Co/Al2O3 Fischer-Tropsch catalysts

The regeneration of Fischer-Tropsch (FT) catalysts plays a crucial role in sustaining their catalytic activity and longevity in sustainable production processes. This research investigates the effectiveness of various solvents, including n-hexane, n-heptane, toluene, xylene, and the liquid fraction of FT products (LF-FT), for catalyst regeneration and extracting wax from the 15 wt%Co/Al2O3 catalyst. Toluene, with a unique combination of key parameters such as polarity, solubility, boiling point, aromatic structure, and chemical interactions, exhibited the highest wax removal efficiency of 90.6%. However, due to its 41 °C lower boiling point compared to toluene and very similar wax removal efficiency, n-hexane appears as a more energy-efficient and cost-effective option for this process. The regenerated catalysts showed comparable characteristics, including the textural properties (surface area, pore size, and pore volume), crystallinity, and reducibility, to fresh catalysts. The slightly lower reduction temperature in the regenerated catalyst indicates a higher possibility for the formation of cobalt active sites during the catalyst reduction process with hydrogen, leading to an increased potential for higher catalytic activity. The LF-FT, comprising paraffins, iso-paraffins, olefins, napthenes, and aromatics, provided a unique combination of aliphatic and aromatic moieties, enhancing the solubility of both polar and nonpolar components in FT wax and improving the wax removal efficiency to 91.5%. The higher boiling point and operating temperature of the LF-FT also contributed to its better performance. Efficient separation of hydrocarbons from solvents allowed for solvent reusability in subsequent FT wax removal cycles, making it advantageous for large-scale applications.

Enhancing the stability of a cobalt-based Fischer–Tropsch synthesis catalyst using g-C3N4-coated SBA-15 as support

BackgroundThe design and synthesis of catalysts with high stability, activity and selectivity in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) have been attracting extensive research attention. Maintaining high catalytic stability and activity is the best strategy for improving the catalyst efficiency and economic benefits. MethodsIn this study, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)-coated SBA-15 was utilised as a support material to prepare cobalt-based FTS catalysts. The catalysts coated with g-C3N4 were studied via TEM, XPS, XRD, H2-TPR, TG, N2 adsorption–desorption, and tested in a fixed-bed reactor. Significant findingsThe catalysts coated with g-C3N4 were considerably more stable than the Co/SBA-15 catalyst without g-C3N4 coating during a 100 h test period. Furthermore, the CO-conversion performance of the Co/SBA-15 catalyst decreased continuously. Notably, the activity of the Co/SBA-15@0.5C3N4 catalyst with a low g-C3N4 loading was higher than that of the Co/SBA-15@1C3N4 catalyst with a relatively high g-C3N4 loading. g-C3N4 can significantly strengthen the interaction between the cobalt species and the support, thereby increasing the catalyst stability. Therefore, a highly stable catalyst with good activity can be achieved by employing a small amount of g-C3N4 for surface modification. The results highlight the effectiveness of the proposed strategy for preparing highly stable, cobalt-based catalysts with good activity.

Insights into the Physicochemical Parameters, Microbial Community Structure, and Functional Variations in Biodegradation of N-Alkane Derivatives from Fischer–Tropsch Wastewater

This study provides a theoretical baseline on the application of chemical and microbiological indicators as rapid system performance monitoring tools that will allow for timely corrective measures to maintain and improve the bioremediation performance of the Fischer–Tropsch wastewater (FTWW) treatment plants. Microorganisms isolated from the sediments and water samples collected from site 1 of Blesbokspruit wetland exhibited the highest biodegradation efficiency of up to 98.04% and 92.85%, respectively, in 96 h reaction time using batch culture media spiked with 300 ppm short chain n-alkane derivatives. The highest COD reduction rate was observed during the first 24 h of biodegradation, and it steadily declined thereafter. The decline in pH from 7.0 to 6.3 was observed in the 96 h reaction time and was attributed to the production of acidic secondary metabolites and the entrapment of the produced CO2 within the batch media. The ORP also declined from the aerobic zone to the anaerobic zone within 24 h (day 1) reaction time. The EC and TDS results were also indicative of the rate of consumption of essential nutrients during the biodegradation process, which could be related to biochemical reactions involved in biodegradation of n-alkane derivatives. Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were the prevalent phyla during the biodegradation of the n-alkane derivatives. Enterococcus and Escherichia genera were more dominant on most days of biodegradation, therefore, indicating that these genera were actively involved in the biodegradation process of the n-alkane derivatives. These genera displayed a positive correlation with EC, ORP, pH and TDS in the four days of biodegradation for batch cultures inoculated with microorganisms from the water and sediments samples collected from the Blesbokspruit wetland. The results obtained demonstrated that physicochemical and microbiological indices can be used to infer the biodegradation rates, patterns and system operations in FTWW bioremediation.

Parametric evaluation of clean syngas production from pine forest residue by chemical looping gasification at the 20 kWth scale

In the framework of the EU H2020 CLARA project, jet biofuel production via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis is intended from syngas generated by Biomass Chemical Looping Gasification (BCLG). BCLG is based on the lattice oxygen transference between a solid oxygen carrier and the biofuel to energetically support the biomass gasification. This process produces low tar and nitrogen-free syngas under autothermal conditions, and at the same time includes an intrinsic separation of carbon compounds from nitrogen in air, avoiding future carbon capture costs. This work evaluates the syngas production from pine forest residue (PFR) through the BCLG process with ilmenite as the oxygen carrier. The effects of several key operating variables, including temperature, oxygen-to-biomass ratio and mean residence time of solids, on the performance of the BCLG process were analyzed at 20 kWth scale. The syngas yield depended on the oxygen-to-biomass ratio and improved with the char conversion in the fuel reactor. Temperature and mean residence time of solids in the fuel reactor were identified as the primary factors affecting char conversion. A dedicated study was performed to assess the impact of the biomass size on char conversion, as well as the relevance of a carbon stripper unit on the improvement on char gasification due to its role either as a secondary gasifier or as a char-oxygen carrier separator. Higher char conversion values were achieved with the lowest biomass particle size (1–2 mm vs. pellets 6 mm Ø) due to lower restrictions to gas diffusion inside the particles. The carbon stripper may act as a secondary gasifier, thus improving the char conversion, but it was not able to take away the unconverted char particles from ilmenite in any case due to it was designed for powdered fuels. Besides, the generation of light hydrocarbons was hardly affected by any operating variables. The tar content remained below 4.5 g/kg dry biomass. The ilmenite showed a good performance during the continuous operation without signs of defluidization.

A bibliometric analysis on sustainable aviation fuels: core technologies, challenges and trends

International initiatives such as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) have set goals for the complete de-carbonization of international aviation in this century. It motivated increasing numbers of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) research projects. The objective of this paper is to provide an overview on SAF research to point one to its foundations and recent advances. Data from the Web of Science database was collected and investigated. Important papers, cooperation networks, textual, productivity and trends analysis is provided. The most productive countries are in the global north, led by the United States and China. Big developing nations such as India and Brazil need to improve. The future of a sustainable aviation sector is heading in the direction of replacement of conventional jet fuel by synthetic hydrocarbon fuels by the end of the century. But there are still doubts about its viability both from the environmental and practical aspects, as there are concerns about feedstock availability and life cycle emissions. Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis, Alcohol-to-Jet and Hydroprocessing of Esters and Fatty Acids appear as the main SAF technologies for drop-in replacements. Longer term prospects are for the development of more efficient aircraft designed for renewables and non-hydrocarbon energy sources.

Experimental analysis on products distribution, characterization and mechanism of waste polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) degradation in sub-/supercritical water

Supercritical water (SCW) treatment of plastics is a clean technology in the ‘waste-to-energy’ path. In this work, PP and PET plastics were processed by sub-/supercritical water. The results showed that temperature was the most important factor of the PP and PET degradation. The influence of factors on the degradation of plastics follows the following order: temperature > residence time > plastic/water ratio. These factors influenced the yield of gas products by promoting or inhibiting various reactions (such as reverse water gas shift reaction, methylation reaction, and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reaction). Besides, the composition of liquid oil was also analyzed. The main composition of the liquid oil produced by PET was benzoic acid and acetaldehyde, which were generated from the decarboxylation of terephthalic acid (TPA) and dehydration reaction of ethylene glycol (EG). The liquid oil from PP was mainly long-chain olefins, long-chain alkanes, cycloalkanes, etc., which were formed by the interaction of various methyl, alkyl, hydroxyl, and other free radicals. This study could build fundamental theories of plastic mixture treatment.

Promotion of Metal–Organic-Framework-Derived Co@C Catalysts for Fischer–Tropsch Reaction by Physical Mixing of Aluminum Isopropoxide

Promotion of Metal–Organic-Framework-Derived Co@C Catalysts for Fischer–Tropsch Reaction by Physical Mixing of Aluminum Isopropoxide

Biodiesel from Bark and Black Liquor—A Techno-Economic, Social, and Environmental Assessment

A techno-economic assessment and environmental and social sustainability assessments of novel Fischer–Tropsch (FT) biodiesel production from the wet and dry gasification of biomass-based residue streams (bark and black liquor from pulp production) for transport applications are presented. A typical French kraft pulp mill serves as the reference case and large-scale biofuel-production-process integration is explored. Relatively low greenhouse gas emission levels can be obtained for the FT biodiesel (total span: 16–83 g CO2eq/MJ in the assessed EU countries). Actual process configuration and low-carbon electricity are critical for overall performance. The site-specific social assessment indicates an overall positive social effect for local community, value chain actors, and society. Important social aspects include (i) job creation potential, (ii) economic development through job creation and new business opportunities, and (iii) health and safety for workers. For social risks, the country of implementation is important. Heat and electricity use are the key contributors to social impacts. The estimated production cost for biobased crude oil is about 13 €/GJ, and it is 14 €/GJ (0.47 €/L or 50 €/MWh) for the FT biodiesel. However, there are uncertainties, i.e., due to the low technology readiness level of the gasification technologies, especially wet gasification. However, the studied concept may provide substantial GHG reduction compared to fossil diesel at a relatively low cost.

Electrochemical CO2/CO reduction on Ag/Cu electrodes and exploring minor Fischer–Tropsch reaction pathways

Ag/Cu hybrids have emerged as highly efficient catalysts for electrochemical (EC) CO2 reduction, yielding impressive C–C coupling products. We investigate Ag/Cu electrodes prepared via sputter deposition to explore their potential in EC CO2 and CO reductions. Our study highlights the significant impact of Ag thickness on resulting gas and liquid products, emphasizing the vital role of the Ag/Cu interface. Under CO2-saturated conditions, CO, CH4, and C2H4 are produced with high Faradaic efficiencies, while CO2-saturated KHCO3 generates formate, ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, acetate, and acetone. Experiments in phosphate conditions reveal new pathways for long-chain hydrocarbons (CnH2n and CnH2n+2, n = 2–7), typical products of Fischer-Tropsch chemistry. We also demonstrate CO hydrogenation to CH4 and C2-7 hydrocarbons, with alkane/alkene ratios influenced by electrolyte nature, concentration, applied potential, and Ag-modified Cu. These insights have implications for energy, environmental applications, and the future of EC CO2 and CO reduction through C–C coupling.

Tailoring the microenvironment of MOF-derived Co nanoparticles for efficient higher alcohol production via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis

Alcohols are considered as high value-added products from Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS). Efficient conversion of syngas into higher alcohols (C2+OH, HA) is of great significance but poses grand challenges. Herein, a series of nitrogen-doped carbon confined Co catalysts (Co@NC and K-Co@NC) have been prepared via pyrolysis of different Co-containing ZIF-67 and K addition by ball milling. After K addition for modulation of the microenvironment of Co-containing catalysts, the K-Co@NC catalysts display an enhanced HA selectivity in FTS, with a maximum HA selectivity up to ∼30 % and a space time yield of HA (STYC2+OH) of 58 mg·gcat−1·h−1, reflecting the highest HA productivities for Co-based heterogeneous catalysts under similar FTS conditions. Comprehensive characterization studies reveal that K addition, could not only modulate the surface basicity for suppressing the side reactions, but also act as electron donors for promoting the formation of Co2C species during the FTS process, facilitating CO non-dissociative adsorption and CO insertion for improving alcohol formation in FTS. This work provides a feasible strategy for the design of highly efficient Co-based FTS catalysts for production of HA by utilizing MOF materials as the scaffolds.

(Invited) Utilization of Bio-CO2 and Bio-Methane for Fuel Production: Integration Solid Oxide Electrolyzer, Low Energy Plasma Reformer with Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis

Transition to renewable energy is essential to achieve climate protection objectives. Besides storing electricity for later use, fuel production using renewable energy is an essential part of reducing fossil dependance. Hydrogen production is receiving the greatest attention as a carbon free energy carrier with the potential to fuel future fleets of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, to store grid electricity to accommodate asynchronous generation and load, and to a lesser extent to displace heating fuels. However, the highest value application in current markets is the production of liquid transportation fuels such as sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and low (fossil) carbon diesel fuel. However, liquid hydrocarbon fuels only achieve the decarbonization goals if they displace fossil fuels and are produced from sustainable, ideally biogenic carbon resources.Solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) stack developed by OxEon team for MOXIE, the Mars OXygen ISRU Experiment has demonstrated the use of CO2 as an electrolysis feedstock aboard the Perseverance rover which as of this writing has operated thirteen times on Mars, splitting the Mars atmosphere CO2 to carbon monoxide and oxygen, as the first ever demonstration of In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) on another planet. The technology is applicable to efficient resource utilization on this world and OxEon is actively developing power to fuels technology to maximize the conversion of biogenic carbon to high value, energy dense, liquid transportation fuels that are needed by an existing vehicle fleet that will be on the road and in the air decades to come.OxEon’s technologies are being applied to bridge the electrical and materials energy sectors. In this project OxEon processes the bio-CO2 through an SOEC and the bio-CH4 through a low energy plasma reformer. The combined synthesis gas is supplied to a Fischer-Tropsch reactor. The combination offers several advantages: the yield of biofuel nearly doubles by use of the bio-CO2 compared to the bio-methane alone, cooling the FT reactor generates all the steam needed in the SOEC system reducing the effective operating voltage (accounting for raising steam) from > 1.5 V/cell to < 1.3 V/cell, oxygen by-product from the SOEC is used in the autothermal reformer, as is some of the FT produced water. The product fuel is all bio-carbon, but it also embodies renewable electric energy in a high-value, storable and transportable liquid hydrocarbon that will be usable in the current air and ground fleets.

(Invited)The Role of the Catalyst Microenvironment in the Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon Monoxide

Carbon monoxide is already an important raw material for the synthesis of different bulk chemicals (e.g., phosgene and different products thereof). Considering that it can be a building block for the synthesis of virtually any organic compound, carbon monoxide might play an important role in the production of synthetic fuels and other typical petrochemical products. This can be performed under high temperature and pressure conditions in the Fischer-Tropsch process, but electrochemical methods also offer a possible way of forming different chemicals from carbon monoxide.Because of the low solubility of carbon monoxide in water, instead of the routinely used H-cells, its reduction must be performed in gas-fed electrolyzer cells, ensuring a short diffusion length for the reactant. However, even in such devices the surface of the catalyst (nano)particles is typically surrounded by a thin water shell under operating conditions, caused by various effects such as electrowetting, or wetting by the formed products. The practical insolubility of carbon monoxide (that is ca. 30 times lower compared to the solubility of CO2) makes it vital to ensure that the thickness of this hydration layer is minimized, hence the reactant can reach the catalysts' surface in gas phase, meanwhile just enough amount of a proton source – water – is in the immediate vicinity.The phase boundary between the catalyst particles, the liquid phase and the gas reactant can be engineered by using functional catalyst layer additives. Here we will demonstrate a commercial pore sealer for this purpose, ensuring the formation of C2+ products in CORR with high selectivity and rate.1 As no specific interaction between the polymer and the CO reactant was found, we assumed that the most important role of this polymer is to increase the hydrophobicity of the catalyst layer. To challenge this theory, various, systematically chosen polymeric materials were tested as catalyst binders to reveal any possible further contribution of certain motifs (e.g., functional groups, fluorinated backbone etc.), present in these polymers. The electrochemical results are contrasted with the detailed characterization of the structure, wetting and gas adsorption properties of the catalyst layer. Reference Kormányos, B. Endrődi, Z. Zhang, A. Samu, L. Mérai, G. F. Samu, L. Janovák, & C. Janáky (2023). EES Catalysis. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3EY00006K

High-Performance CO2 and H2O Co-Electrolysis Based on Micro-Structured Hollow Fiber Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell

The world is dedicated to achieving Carbon Neutrality and Circular Economy in the next decades by circulating carbon element. This makes the research related to energy and environment more stringent and urgent. Solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) has been regarded as the key enabling technologies to mitigate the issues and meanwhile can take full use of the intermittent renewable electricity. Herein, we designed a multi-channel hollow fiber SOEC, which presents sub-millimeter channels and separate domains of mechanical strength and catalytic reactions, to split CO2 (and H2O) to CO (and H2), which can be used as the feedstock for Fischer-Tropsch and methanol synthesis. The results show high current density, good performance durability, and low concentration polarization, and thus the new design can achieve compact design together with excellent performance with volumetric productivity of above 125 kmol/m3/hr at 750 degC. Co-electrolysis performance is further explored by incorporating newly designed catalyst for further enhancement. Figure 1

A novel machine learning framework for designing high-performance catalysts for production of clean liquid fuels through Fischer-Tropsch synthesis

Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) attracts great interest as a sustainable route for production of sustainable transportation fuels. Catalyst design and operational conditions tune the selectivity of FTS to liquid fuels, which can be predicted with machine learning models (ML). Herein, a comprehensive dataset including 27 key input features related to the catalyst structure (with the focus on carbon supports), preparation, activation, and FTS operating conditions were investigated to predict the CO conversion and C5+ selectivity using three ML algorithms. Feature engineering and selection were implemented to identify the significant catalyst formulation descriptors. Principal component analysis was used to explore the information space and decrease the dimension of the dataset before ML prediction. In addition to the well-known effects of the operational conditions on FTS, roles of physico-chemical properties of the carbon materials were also extensively analyzed. Random forest (RF) including 4 principal components, indicated the highest accuracy for prediction of the CO conversion and C5+ selectivity with R2 of 0.91 and 0.97, respectively. The proposed framework can provide a reliable strategy in designing efficient carbon supported catalysts for FTS and guide experiments by identifying the key descriptors in the catalyst formulation and operating conditions to enhance the selectivity of liquid fuels.

Synthesis of straight-chain C49H100 alkane using a modular splicing strategy

Ultra-long n-alkanes are highly valuable in both scientific research and as major constituents of specialty high-melting-point waxes. Unlike conventional methods (e.g., Fischer–Tropsch (FT), ethylene oligomerization, and polyethylene cracking) typically resulting in wide n-alkane distributions, the elaborate design strategy presented herein allows the direct synthesis of pure, long n-alkanes using a modular splicing method with acetone, furfural, and fatty acid anhydrides or acyl chlorides as bio-blocks. The herein approach is based on a simple four-step catalytic reaction scheme involving C–C chain elongation and C–O bond activation. The synthesized pure n-alkanes had a carbon chain length as high as C49 (total yield of 49%). The synthesis approach also allows to selectively prepare n-alkanes with even and odd carbon numbers ranging from C15 to C49. This process represents a great breakthrough in the synthesis of long-chain pure n-alkanes, surpassing the carbon number limitations reported in previous methodologies.

Advancing C5+ hydrocarbons fuels production: An interpretable machine learning framework for Co-catalyzed syngas conversion

Thermocatalytic conversion of the renewable syngas into long chain hydrocarbons fuels was an attractive energy production technology, for combating climate change, energy crisis, and wastes disposal. However, this thermochemical process was very complicated, and target product also highly depended on the feedstock information, catalyst properties, and process condition. At present, it was still challenging to fully understand and optimize this process. To address this gap, we developed a machine learning framework to model Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process of syngas towards C5+ hydrocarbons fuels from experimental descriptors. A database of Cobalt-based catalyst with 406 datapoints was compiled from literature and subjected to data mining. Accurate ensemble-tree models (R2 > 0.82) were developed to predict the CO conversion and C5+ hydrocarbons fuels selectivity from 12 descriptors, where the significance of dispersion, pressure, temperature, and metal content was revealed. Casual analysis revealed that C5+ hydrocarbons fuels selectivity was positively correlated with lower temperature (<481 K) and higher dispersion (>7.72 %). Besides, some interesting findings were also observed, for example, smaller cobalt size, and lower pore size (<9.27 wt%) and cobalt loading (<22 wt%) were positively related to C5+hydrocarbons fuels selectivity. The framework was purely data-driven, interpretable, and highlighted the ability of this method to unearth relationships of target variables and descriptors in thermocatalytic conversion of syngas, by isolating effects of individual design parameters in a manner that would be difficult to achieve experimentally. These insights could help design and optimization of subsequent experiments.