Hydrocarbons, hydrocarbon synthesis

Fischer-Tropsch Process. The Hterature on the hydrogenation of carbon monoxide dates back to 1902 when the synthesis of methane from synthesis gas over a nickel catalyst was reported (17). In 1923, F. Fischer and H. Tropsch reported the formation of a mixture of organic compounds they called synthol by reaction of synthesis gas over alkalized iron turnings at 10—15 MPa (99—150 atm) and 400—450°C (18). This mixture contained mostly oxygenated compounds, but also contained a small amount of alkanes and alkenes. Further study of the reaction at 0.7 MPa (6.9 atm) revealed that low pressure favored olefinic and paraffinic hydrocarbons and minimized oxygenates, but at this pressure the reaction rate was very low. Because of their pioneering work on catalytic hydrocarbon synthesis, this class of reactions became known as the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis. 

In the mid-1930s Universal Oil Products reported (33,34) that gasoline of improved quaHty could be produced by cracking the high boiling fractions of Fischer Hquids, and a consortium, the Hydrocarbon Synthesis, Inc., entered into an agreement with Ruhrchemie to Hcense the Fischer synthesis outside Germany. 

Hydrocarbons from Synthesis Gas and Methanol. Two very important catalytic processes in which hydrocarbons are formed from synthesis gas are the Sasol Eischer-Tropsch process, in which carbon monoxide and hydrogen obtained from coal gasification are converted to gasoline and other products over an iron catalyst, and the Mobil MTG process, which converts methanol to gasoline range hydrocarbons using ZSM-5-type 2eohte catalysts. 

Other synthetic methods have been investigated but have not become commercial. These include, for example, the hydration of ethylene in the presence of dilute acids (weak sulfuric acid process) the conversion of acetylene to acetaldehyde, followed by hydrogenation of the aldehyde to ethyl alcohol and the Fischer-Tropsch hydrocarbon synthesis. Synthetic fuels research has resulted in a whole new look at processes to make lower molecular weight alcohols from synthesis gas. 

Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis The best-known technology for producing hydrocarbons from synthesis gas is the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. This technology was first demonstrated in Germany in 1902 by Sabatier and Senderens when they hydrogenated carbon monoxide (CO) to methane, using a nickel catalyst. In 1926 Fischer and Tropsch were awarded a patent for the discovery of a catalytic technique to convert synthesis gas to liquid hydrocarbons similar to petroleum. 

Hydrocarbons from Synthesis Gas (Fischer Tropsch Synthesis, FTS)... 

The petrochemical industry is mainly based on three types of intermediates, which are derived from the primary raw materials. These are the C2-C4 olefins, the Ce-Cg aromatic hydrocarbons, and synthesis gas (an H2/CO2 mixture). 

As an example we quote the formation of hydrocarbons from synthesis gas with Group 8 metal catalysts. 

After reduction and surface characterization, the iron sample was moved to the reactor and brought to the reaction conditions (7 atm, 3 1 H2 C0, 540 K). Once the reactor temperature, gas flow and pressure were stabilized ( 10 min.) the catalytic activity and selectivity were monitored by on-line gas chromatography. As previously reported, the iron powder exhibited an induction period in which the catalytic activity increased with time. The catalyst reached steady state activity after approximately 4 hours on line. This induction period is believed to be the result of a competition for surface carbon between bulk carbide formation and hydrocarbon synthesis.(6,9) Steady state synthesis is reached only after the surface region of the catalyst is fully carbided. 

The steady state rates of hydrocarbon synthesis over the carbided iron surface are given in Table I. The reaction rates have been normalized to the physical surface area of the starting iron powder [18 M /g] and are reported in molecules/cm sec. A turnover... 

Hydrocarbon Synthesis and Rearrangement over Clean and Chemically Modified Surfaces... 

The poor regioselectivity of alkyne insertion in our polycychc aromatic hydrocarbon synthesis (Scheme 17) suggested to us that perhaps the palladium intermediate in that process was actually undergoing migration from one aromatic ring to the other, perhaps by a Pd(IV) hydride intermediate, to establish an equilibrium mixture of two regioisomeric arylpalladium intermediates under our reaction conditions (Scheme 18). This, indeed, appears to be true as... 

This section covers recent advances in the application of three-phase fluidization systems in the petroleum and chemical process industries. These areas encompass many of the important commercial applications of three-phase fluidized beds. The technology for such applications as petroleum resid processing and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis have been successfully demonstrated in plants throughout the world. Overviews and operational considerations for recent improvements in the hydrotreating of petroleum resids, applications in the hydrotreating of light gas-oil, and improvements and new applications in hydrocarbon synthesis will be discussed. 

The overall reaction of the desired hydrocarbon synthesis is thus... 

McDonald, M.A., Storm, D.A., and Boudart, M. 1986. Hydrocarbon synthesis from carbon monoxide-hydrogen on supported iron Effect of particle size and interstitials. J. Catal. 102 386 -00. 

Weller, S. E. 1947. Kinetics of carbiding and hydrocarbon synthesis with cobalt Fischer-Tropsch catalysts. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 69 2432-36. 

Arcuri, K. B., andLeviness, S. C. 2003. The regeneration of hydrocarbon synthesis catalyst, a partial review of the related art published during 1930 to 1952. Paper presented at the AIChE Spring National Meeting, New Orleans, April 2. www.fischer-tropsch.org. 

Lapidus, A., Krylova, A., Kazanskii, V., Borovkov, V., and Zaitsev, A. 1991. Hydrocarbon synthesis from carbon monoxide and hydrogen on impregnated cobalt catalysts. Part I. Physico-chemical properties of 10% cobalt/alumina and 10% cobalt/ silica. Appl. Catal. 73 65-81. 

Inderwildi, O.R., Jenkins, S. J., and King, D.A. 2008. Fischer-Tropsch mechanism revisited Alternative pathways for the production of higher hydrocarbons from synthesis gas. J. Phys. Chem. C 112 1305-7. 

Kravtsov, A.V., Moizes, O.E., Usheva, N.V., and Yablonskii, G.S. 1988. Kinetic model for hydrocarbon synthesis from CO and H2 accounting for its intragroup distribution. React. Kinet. Catal. Lett. 36 201-6. 

Bechara, R., Balloy, D., and Vanhove, D. 2001. Catalytic properties of Co/Al203 system for hydrocarbon synthesis. Appl. Catal. A 207 343-53. 

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