Review on Fischer-Tropsch synthesis in supercritical media

A detailed review of the recent works regarding applications of supercritical media in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) is presented. Differences in activity, CH4 and CO2 selectivity, hydrocarbon and olefin distributions, catalyst stability and heat transfer between supercritical Fischer-Tropsch syntheses (SC-FTS) and conventional gas phase Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (GP-FTS) are compared. The effects of temperature, pressure, solvent type, supercritical media/syngas molar ratio on SC-FTS are discussed. Finally selective production of wax via SC-FTS is briefly presented. Experimental analyses reveal that unique properties of supercritical media can improve FTS catalyst activity and selectivity in SC-FTS due to higher heat and mass transfer rates in comparison to GP-FTS. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.