Fischer–Tropsch Catalysts for the Production of Hydrocarbon Fuels with High Selectivity

Abstract

Fischer-Tropsch synthesis is a key reaction in the utilization of non-petroleum carbon resources, such as methane (natural gas, shale gas, and biogas), coal, and biomass, for the sustainable production of clean liquid fuels from synthesis gas. Selectivity control is one of the biggest challenges in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. This Minireview focuses on the development of new catalysts with controllable product selectivities. Recent attempts to increase the selectivity to C5+ hydrocarbons by preparing catalysts with well-defined active phases or with new supports or by optimizing the interaction between the promoter and the active phase are briefly highlighted. Advances in developing bifunctional catalysts capable of catalyzing both CO hydrogenation to heavier hydrocarbons and hydrocracking/isomerization of heavier hydrocarbons are critically reviewed. It is demonstrated that the control of the secondary hydrocracking reactions by using core-shell nanostructures or solid-acid materials, such as mesoporous zeolites and carbon nanotubes with acid functional groups, is an effective strategy to tune the product selectivity of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Very promising selectivities to gasoline- and diesel-range hydrocarbons have been attained over some bifunctional catalysts.

Effects of Water Addition on CO Hydrogenation Over Zinc-Containing Spinel-Supported Cobalt Catalyst

“…It is known that the active sites for C 1? production are those supported Co 0 metal crystallites [1][2][3][4][5]. Thus the active sites for CO 2 production might not be the Co 0 phase but be the support phase.…”

“…The Co/ZnAl 2 O 4 ÁAl 2 O 3 catalyst exhibits good resistance against steam sintering. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] or hydrogenation of unsaturated organic feedstocks [12,13]. Complex oxides (e.g., AB 2 O 4 spinels) have better resistance against sintering/steam than simple oxides (e.g., silica or alumina) and can minimize the formation of metal-support compounds [14,15].…”

Tunable isoparaffin and olefin yields in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis achieved by a novel iron-based micro-capsule catalyst

“…Bifunctional catalysts with the combination of the conventional FTS catalyst and acidic zeolite have been studied widely for direct synthesis of middle isoparaffin [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Until now, there are three kinds of bifunctional catalysts for direct synthesis of middle isoparaffin: physical mixture catalysts [12,13], zeolite-supported metal catalysts [14,15] and capsule or coated catalysts with the conventional FTS catalyst core and zeolite shell [16][17][18].…”

Polyaniline-supported iron catalyst for selective synthesis of lower olefins from syngas

“…It is well known that the products of FT process follow the Anderson-Schulz-Flory (ASF) distribution because of the polymerization mechanism [5]. According to the ASF distribution, the maximum selectivity of C 2 -C 4 hydrocarbons (including both olefins and paraffins) is approximately 57% with a chain growth probability factor (α) of 0.46.…”