Fischer–Tropsch synthesis and hydrogenolysis of long-chain alkanes over cobalt-containing nanosized catalysts in a slurry reactor

Abstract

Fischer–Tropsch synthesis in the presence of nanosized cobalt-containing catalysts suspended in a mixture of long-chain alkanes has been studied. It has been found that the molecular-mass distribution of the products differs substantially from the typical Anderson–Schulz–Flory distribution. The most evident cause of this phenomenon is the intense hydrogenolysis of long-chain alkanes of the liquid medium which occurs during catalyst activation; this process may proceed to a sufficient extent during Fischer–Tropsch synthesis. The molecular-mass distribution of hydrogenolysis products shows a number of specific features that differ appreciably from those for both classical hydrogenolysis (cracking) in the presence of zeolites and terminal methanolysis, which is frequently observed in the presence of group VIII metals. Problems encountered during the construction of models for the observed distribution are discussed.