Synthesis gas yields

New developments in the field of ceramic foam monoliths could also potentially provide new catalytic process technology for the conversion of methane into synthesis gas. For example, workers at Minnesota University [9] have achieved high synthesis gas yields at both high temperatures and space velocities using rhodium supported on a ceramic foam. 

Thermal conversion of organic waste material, such as plastics, or of biomass under the influence of oxygen into crude synthesis gas yields a hydrogen gas. 

The interest of alkyne and allene hydroformylation is the formation of a,) -unsamrated aldehydes, which are valuable intermediates in fine chemical and pharmacy. In contrast to alkenes, the studies on the hydroformylation of alkynes are relatively scant. The first case of acetylene hydroformylation was reported by Natta and Pino in 1951 [79]. It was found that in the presence of metallic cobalt at 120-150°C and 200-300 atm, acetylene reacted with synthesis gas yielding a mixture of high-boiling, unidentified products. During the following 40 years, hydroformylation of alkynes to a,/l-unsaturated aldehydes had little success [80-85]. The early investigations usually resulted in low selectivity and/or low yield of unsaturated aldehydes, primarily because the formation of the corresponding saturated aldehydes and non-carbonylated olefins could hardly be suppressed. 

Synthesis gas is obtained either from methane reforming or from coal gasification (see Coal conversion processes). Telescoping the methanol carbonylation into an esterification scheme furnishes methyl acetate directly. Thermal decomposition of methyl acetate yields carbon and acetic anhydride,... 

Because the ammonia synthesis reaction is an equiUbrium, the quantity of ammonia depends on temperature, pressure, and the H2 to-N2 ratio. At 500°C and 20.3 MPa (200 atm), the equiUbrium mixture contains 17.6% ammonia. The ammonia formed is removed from the exit gases by condensation at about —20° C, and the gases are recirculated with fresh synthesis gas into the reactor. The ammonia must be removed continually as its presence decreases both the equiUbrium yield and the reaction rate by reducing the partial pressure of the N2—H2 mixture. 

Sasol Fischer-Tropsch Process. 1-Propanol is one of the products from Sasol s Fischer-Tropsch process (7). Coal (qv) is gasified ia Lurgi reactors to produce synthesis gas (H2/CO). After separation from gas Hquids and purification, the synthesis gas is fed iato the Sasol Synthol plant where it is entrained with a powdered iron-based catalyst within the fluid-bed reactors. The exothermic Fischer-Tropsch reaction produces a mixture of hydrocarbons (qv) and oxygenates. The condensation products from the process consist of hydrocarbon Hquids and an aqueous stream that contains a mixture of ketones (qv) and alcohols. The ketones and alcohols are recovered and most of the alcohols are used for the blending of high octane gasoline. Some of the alcohol streams are further purified by distillation to yield pure 1-propanol and ethanol ia a multiunit plant, which has a total capacity of 25,000-30,000 t/yr (see Coal conversion processes, gasification). 

Chem Systems Inc. proposed a process in which ben2yl alcohol obtained by an undisclosed direct oxidation of toluene is homologated with synthesis gas to yield 2-phen5iethyl alcohol, which is then readily dehydrated to styrene (57). This process eliminates the intermediate formation of methanol from synthesis gas but does require the independent production of ben2yl alcohol. 

Synthesis Ga.s, Since petroleum prices rose abmpdy in 1974, the production of ethanol from synthesis gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, has received considerable attention. The use of synthesis gas as a base raw material has the same drawback as fermentation technology low yields limited by stoichiometry. 

The Fischer-Tropsch reaction is highly exothermic. Therefore, adequate heat removal is critical. High temperatures residt in high yields of methane, as well as coking and sintering of the catalyst. Three types of reac tors (tubular fixed bed, fluidized bed, and slurry) provide good temperature control, and all three types are being used for synthesis gas conversion. The first plants used tubular or plate-type fixed-bed reactors. Later, SASOL, in South Africa, used fluidized-bed reactors, and most recently, slurry reactors have come into use. 

Most of the production of hydrocarbons by Fischer Tropsch method uses synthesis gas produced from sources that yield a relatively low... 

The SASOL plant was operated with a surplus of C02 during a long term test of 4000 hrs. Of the C02 in the synthesis gas, 33.4% was metha-nated while the remaining 66.6% left the reaction system unconverted. Product gas from final methanation yielded specification grade SNG containing residual hydrogen of 0.7 vol % and residual CO of less than 0.1 vol %. The heating value was 973 Btu/standard cubic foot (scf) after C02 removal to 0.5 vol % (calc.). 

The use of renewable resources for manufacturing specific performance and speciality chemicals, and for fibres to replace synthetic ones, is growing. The driver for this is improved cost/performance. In order to have a major impact on the amount of oil and gas used there is a need to convert biomass into new, large-scale basic feedstocks such as synthesis gas or methanol. Many technical developments in separation science as well as improvements in the overall yield of chemicals are required before renewable feedstocks can compete effectively with oil and gas, but the gap will continue to narrow. 

CO in the synthesis gas mixture for the methanol synthesis does not seem to take part directly in the reaction, but it does influence the process through two effects First the water-gas shift reaction and, secondly, through its effect on the surface morphology (and possibly also composition). For thermodynamic reasons, however, it would be desirable if CO could be hydrogenated directly via Eq (18) instead of going through two coupled equations (3) and (19), since it would yield a higher equilibrium concentration of methanol at the reactor exit. 

This XPS investigation of small iron Fischer-Tropsch catalysts before and after the pretreatment and exposure to synthesis gas has yielded the following information. Relatively mild reduction conditions (350 C, 2 atm, Hg) are sufficient to totally reduce surface oxide on iron to metallic iron. Upon exposure to synthesis gas, the metallic iron surface is converted to iron carbide. During this transformation, the catalytic response of the material increases and finally reaches steady state after the surface is fully carbided. The addition of a potassium promoter appears to accelerate the carbidation of the material and steady state reactivity is achieved somewhat earlier. In addition, the potassium promoter causes a build up on carbonaceous material on the surface of the catalysts which is best characterized as polymethylene. 

In another study (102), a triarylphosphine with a sulfonyl group on each phenyl was prepared and used with rhodium in a buffered aqueous system. The hydroformylation of propylene was conducted at 80°C and 50 atm of synthesis gas. The yield of aldehydes was 98% on converted propylene with an n iso ratio of 6.7 1. 

---