Activity, selectivity and attrition characteristics of supported iron Fischer-Tropsch catalysts

The CO conversion rate and the product selectivities for the conversion of syngas typical of one derived from coal (H-2/CO = 0.7) or natural gas (H-2/ CO = 1.7) are very similar over the range of 30-90% CO conversion levels. F or CO conversions up to about 50%, the iron catalyst is as or more producti ve than a similar mass of supported cobalt catalyst. A supported iron catal yst may exhibit about two-thirds the productivity, on a gram Fe basis, as a n unsupported catalyst. Furthermore, whereas the unsupported iron catalyst disintegrates within 24h of synthesis, the supported catalyst retains its i ntegrity during hundreds of hours of slurry phase operation. Silica based c atalysts exhibited less disintegration in the CSTR than alumina based catal ysts. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.