Fischer-Trospch Synthesis on Ordered Mesoporous Cobalt-Based Catalysts with Compact Multichannel Fixed-Bed Reactor Application: A Review

CO hydrogenation to hydrocarbons through Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) reaction is one of the promising chemical processes, which can convert alternative feedstocks such as natural gas or biomass into synthetic fuels. The FTS reaction has received many attentions due to a limited petroleum resource with an increased demand for using alternative carbon sources such as stranded gas or shale gas. Some proper synthetic methods of an effective FTS catalyst having a larger active metal surface area and a lower deactivation rate are the most important issues for a long-term operation. Therefore, some ordered mesoporous materials (OMM) have been widely investigated in the field of CO hydrogenation using some heterogeneous catalysts. The present brief review paper summarized the various preparation methods of the ordered mesoporous materials for the possible applications of FTS reaction with a lower deactivation rate and a higher catalytic performance. The applications of the ordered mesoporous cobalt oxides for FTS reaction are briefly introduced and the ways to improve a structural stability even under reductive CO hydrogenation conditions by using efficient pillaring materials as well as by preparing mixed metal oxides. A higher catalytic activity of the ordered mesoporous cobalt oxide was also verified in a multi-channel fixed-bed compact reactor having the intersected interlayers of micro-channel heat exchanger. The thermal stability of ordered mesoporous cobalt-based catalysts was mainly affected by a structural stability which can easily remove the heavy hydrocarbons from the inner surfaces.