Fischer–Tropsch process

The Fischer–Tropsch process is a collection of chemical reactions that converts a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, known as syngas, into liquid hydrocarbons. These reactions occur in the presence of metal catalysts, typically at temperatures of and pressures of one to several tens of atmospheres. The Fischer–Tropsch process is an important reaction in both coal liquefaction and gas to liquids technology for producing liquid hydrocarbons. In the usual implementation, carbon monoxide and hydrogen, the feedstocks for FT, are produced from coal, natural gas, or biomass in a process known as gasification. The process then converts these gases into synthetic lubrication oil and synthetic fuel. This process has received intermittent attention as a source of low-sulfur diesel fuel and to address the supply or cost of petroleum-derived hydrocarbons. Fischer-Tropsch process is discussed as a step of producing carbon-neutral liquid hydrocarbon fuels from CO2 and hydrogen. The process was first developed by Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Coal Research in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, in 1925. The Fischer–Tropsch process involves a series of chemical reactions that produce a variety of hydrocarbons, ideally having the formula (CnH2n+2). The more useful reactions produce alkanes as follows: (2n + 1) H2 + n CO → CnH2n+2 + n H2O where n is typically 10–20. The formation of methane (n = 1) is unwanted. Most of the alkanes produced tend to be straight-chain, suitable as diesel fuel. In addition to alkane formation, competing reactions give small amounts of alkenes, as well as alcohols and other oxygenated hydrocarbons. The reaction is a highly exothermic reaction due to a standard reaction enthalpy (ΔH) of −165 kJ/mol CO combined. Converting a mixture of H2 and CO into aliphatic products is a multi-step reaction with several intermediate compounds. The growth of the hydrocarbon chain may be visualized as involving a repeated sequence in which hydrogen atoms are added to carbon and oxygen, the C–O bond is split and a new C–C bond is formed.