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Iron-Based Mixed Metal Carbide Fischer-Tropsch Catalysts

Gasification followed by Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) is currently the most promising method for upgrading low-value coal and biomass to high-value liquid fuels and chemicals. There are sufficient domestic reserves of coal to supply most of US fuel needs for more than one hundred years using FTS. Because biomass is formed by fixation of atmospheric CO₂, its use as a fuel feedstock is attractive because this results in virtually no net CO₂ emissions. Bulk iron (Fe) catalysts are the catalysts of choice for converting low H₂/CO ratio syngas to fuels via FTS. These relatively low-cost catalysts have low methane selectivity and high water gas shift activity (which generates H₂ in situ). However, development of a bulk Fe FTS catalyst that combines high FT activity, low methane selectivity, high attrition resistance (i.e., ability to withstand physical breakage), and long-term stability (low deactivation rate) is still elusive and presents a widely recognized barrier to the commercial deployment of FTS for coal and biomass conversion. The critical property determining the activity and deactivation of Fe catalysts for FTS appears not to be Fe in the metallic state but the carburized Fe surface.

This research project addresses the issues of the nature, the genesis, and the maintenance of active Fe sites in Fe FTS catalysts from a totally different perspective than previous studies, focusing on the ability of second and third metals to form mixed-metal carbides with Fe at reaction or pretreatment conditions. Improvements in activity should result as catalytically active surface carbide structures are stabilized in the presence of H₂O and CO₂, important for use at the high conversions required for commercial operation. This should also result in a decrease in the rate of deactivation, thereby improving the longevity of the catalyst. The 36-month research project involves Clemson University, Louisiana State University, RTI, Süd-Chemie Inc., Rentech, the South Carolina State Energy Office, and the Louisiana State Energy Office.

Contact:

Clemson University
Department of Chemical Engineering
Clemson, SC 29634-0909
Grand Forks, ND 58202
(864) 656-6614
Contact: James A. Goodwin, Jr.
Email: james.goodwin@ces.clemson.edu

Partners:

Louisiana State University
RTI
Rentech

Süd-Chemie, Inc.

South Carolina Energy Office
Louisiana Energy Office

Cost:

Total project cost: $1,334,594
STAC-DOE portion: $875,499
Participant portion: $459,095

Statement of Work and Status

Quarterly Reports

Below are the quarterly reports as provided by the project to STAC, excluding some non-substantive and financial information. All available reports are listed below.

Last Updated: 05/01/08