The life of a cobalt catalyst for the synthesis of hydrocarbons at atmospheric pressure

✍ Scribed by Hall, C. C. ;Smith, S. L.

• Book ID: 102887453
• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1946
• Weight: 967 KB
• Volume: 65
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0368-4075
• DOI: 10.1002/jctb.5000650502

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The economic operation of a catalytic process on the industrial scale is to a large extent dependent on the period of time for which the entalyst can be maintained in an active condition. From the accounts which have been published concerning the pre‐war operation of Fischer‐Tropsch plants in Germany, it would appear that this period is about 4 or 5 months for the cobalt catalyst used in the synthesis of hydrocarbons at normal pressure, and the manufacture and recovery of catalyst forms an important and expensive feature of the whole process.

The work described in this paper shows that a cobalt catalyst supported on kieselguhr and containing thoria and magnesia as activators can be maintained in a high state of activity for periods of the order of 18 months by intermittent treatment with hydrogen under various conditions.