Modeling Fischer-Tropsch kinetics and product distribution over a cobalt catalyst

A detailed kinetic model describing the consumption of key components and product distribution in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) over a 20%Co/0.5Re gamma-Al2O3 commercial catalyst is developed. The developed model incorporates the H2O-assisted CO dissociation mechanism developed by Rytter and Holmen and a novel approach to product distribution modeling. The model parameters are optimized against an experimental dataset comprising a range of process conditions: total pressure 2.0-2.2 MPa, temperature 210-230 degrees C, CO conversion range of 10%-75% and feed with and without added water. The quality of the model fit measured in terms of mean absolute relative residuals (MARR) value is 23.1%, which is comparable to literature reported values. The developed model can accurately describe both positive and negative effects of water on the rate kinetics, the positive effect of water on the growth factor, temperature and syngas composition on the kinetics and product distribution over a wide range of process conditions, which is critical for the design and optimization of the Fisher-Tropsch reactors.

Automated summary

The detailed kinetic model developed in this study accurately describes the consumption of key components and product distribution in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis over a commercial catalyst, incorporating a water-assisted CO dissociation mechanism and a novel approach to product distribution modeling. The model parameters are optimized against experimental data under various process conditions, showing a good fit with literature reported values. The model can accurately capture the effects of water and other process variables on the kinetics and product distribution, crucial for the design and optimization of Fischer-Tropsch reactors.