The Fischer-Tropsch process: 1950-2000

The decision to build a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) plant is still fraught with risk because it has to be based on the perceived future price and availability of petroleum crude oil and on local politics. The most expensive section of an FT complex is the production of purified syngas and so its composition should match the overall usage ratio of the FT reactions, which in turn depends on the product selectivity. The kinetics, reactor requirements, control of selectivity and the life of cobalt and iron catalysts are discussed and compared. Control of the FT conditions coupled with appropriate downstream processes results in high yields of gasoline, excellent quality diesel fuel or high value linear alpha-olefins. The history of the various FT options and of the improvements in FT reactor technologies over the last 50 years is reviewed. It appears that new technologies are re-discovered in cycles of 15-30 years and it often takes the same time for the implementation of new concepts. (C) 2002 EIsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.