Microchannel Fischer-Tropsch Reactors Offer Small-Scale Economics

摘要

The original Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process was developed nearly a century ago as a means of producing liquid hydrocarbons (mostly fuels) from coal. However, since at that point in time, crude oil was rather cheap, the FT process was not the process of choice. Now, the FT process is used to produce liquid hydrocarbons that have very low sulphur content. This is done in order to meet stringent regulations. Typically, the FT process converts an input mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen to hydrocarbons in the presence of catalysts. The ideal catalyst for such a reaction is primarily made of cobalt and other precious metals. It is a fact that the quality of crude oil diminishes as its available quantity diminishes. Also, more stringent regulations are being put in place that mandate sulphur-free output, Hence, alternate feedstock that can produce high-quality output is being sought. However, the real challenge is to produce the same output that meets the new quality guidelines with the same or better economics.