Intermediate Product Regulation in Tandem Syngas Conversion to Liquid Fuels

摘要

The single-step production of liquid hydrocarbons from syngas (H2+CO) via the tandem integration of Fischer-Trospch (FT) and hydrocracking (HC) reactions represents an attractive approach towards the intensification of gas-to-liquid (GTL) technologies for the valorization of unconventional and delocalized carbon resources into transportable liquid hydrocarbons, circumventing the wax handling required in conventional GTL processes.[1] However, the integration of two solid catalysts in a single reactor, to steer sequential reactions in tandem poses important challenges. The sharing of a common reaction medium generally means that each catalyst operates under individually suboptimal conditions. Besides, the dichotomy is often faced that close spatial proximity between the tandem catalysts - required for an effective transport of intermediate products between their active sites with minor derivation via undesired reaction pathways - prohibits individual adjustment of other key parameters such as the catalyst operation temperature. The FT/HC process is an excellent showcase for these limitations.