Speaker:
James G. Goodwin, Jr.
Department of Chemical Engineering
Clemson University
Clemson, SC
Date:
March 19, 2001 4:00pm
Speaker combined with TriState Catalysis Club's March Meeting
Marriott Hotel
Lexington, KY
Abstract:
Supported cobalt catalysts are the preferred catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch
synthesis (FTS) based on natural gas because of their high activity for FTS,
high selectivity to linear hydrocarbons, low activity for the water gas
shift reaction, and low cost compared to Ru. However, the formation of
cobalt-support compounds can occur during pretreatment and/or under reaction
conditions, leading to lower activity of a catalyst which is not reversible.
Water vapor has been found to have a major impact on this formation. Since
water vapor is a byproduct of metal catalyst reduction and a byproduct of
reaction, it is very important to fully understand its effect on Co-support
compound formation, the nature of the compounds formed, and how this
compound formation may be prevented. This presentation focuses on recent
work in this area in our laboratories to explore these issues.