(583fw) Novel Rotating Catalytic Packed Bed Reactor for Highly Selective and Cost-Effective Production From Diesel to Light Olefin Via Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis

Novel Rotating Catalytic Packed Bed Reactor for Highly Selective and Cost-effective Production From Diesel to Light Olefin via Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis

Jian-Feng Chen*, Yi Liu, Yi Zhang

State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites;

 Research Center of the Ministry of Education for High Gravity Engineering and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, 15 Beisanhuan East Road, Beijing 100029, PR China, Email: chenjf@mail.buct.edu.cn

Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) has received renewed interest because of the worldwide demand for a decreased dependence on petroleum.^{1, 2 In general, FTS products are almost always normal aliphatic hydrocarbons, following the Anderson-Schultz-Flory (ASF) distribution, which is determined by the polymerization mechanism.3}It is still a great challenge for FTS to selectively produce the specific products, especially to cost-effectively produce light olefins.

Herein, we proposed a strategy of coupled reaction and separation process simutaneously to high selectively produce from Diesel to light Olefin via FTS synthesis. The Rotating packed Bed (RPB) ^{4, 5}reactor (High Gravity reactor) embeded with catalyst was used for first time for the FTS reaction to control the product distribution. The results showed the product distribution of FTS reaction in the rotating catalytic packed bed reactor was significantly adjusted by the high gravity environment. The main products of the FTS can be selectively formed from diesel to light olefin, which has opened a door to tailor the product distribution of FTS.

It was experimentally showed that when the high gravity level g_r=300 m/s², not only was the product distribution deviated from the ASF law, but also the heavy hydrocarbons of C₁₄₊ were completely suppressed. The selectivity of C₂⁼-C₄⁼reached 27.5%, which is 5 times higher than that obtained from fix bed reactor,and the total selectivity of C₂-C₄ was as high as 60.1%.

 In summary, the RPB reactor has been firstly applied to FTS reaction. Avoiding the low-efficiency of two steps of methanol synthesis and MTO process from syngas, direct and effective formation of light olefins from syngas (syngas to olefin, STO) is feasible and much cost-effective by using RPB reactor. It could be prospected that this novel one step method of syngas to olefin would be more attractive for industry application due to the significantly saving of equipment investment and energy consumption.

References

(1)    Schulz, H. Appl. Catal. A 1999, 186, 3–12

(2)    Dry, M. E. Catal. Today 2002, 71, 227–241

(3)    Van der Laan, G. P.; Beenackers, A. A. C. M. Catal. Rev. Sci. Eng. 1999, 41, 255 – 318.

(4)    Ramshaw, C.The Chemical Engineer, 1983, 13-14.

(5)    Chen, J.; Gao, H.; Zou, H.; Chu, G.; Zhang, L.; Shao, L.; Xiang, Y.; Wu, Y.  AIChE J. 2010, 56, 1053-1062.