Slurry hydrocarbon synthesis process with increased catalyst life
AssigneeExxon Research & Engineering Co.
InventorsStephen C. Leviness, Charles J. Mart, William C. Behrmann, Stephen J. Hsia, Daniel R. Neskora
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A slurry catalytic hydrocarbon synthesis process which employs a catalyst comprising a supported cobalt component achieves a short term catalyst half life of more than 10 days, by using a syngas feed which contains less than fifty parts per billion of a combined total amount of HCN and NH3.
Claims16
A slurry hydrocarbon synthesis process, with reduced rejuvenation hydrogen consumption, for making hydrocarbons from a synthesis gas comprising a mixture of H2 and CO which also contains HCN, NH3 or mixture thereof, said process comprising passing said synthesis gas into a slurry hydrocarbon synthesis reactor and reacting said H2 and CO in the presence of a hydrocarbon synthesis catalyst in a slurry comprising said catalyst and gas bubbles in a hydrocarbon slurry liquid, under reaction conditions effective to form hydrocarbons from said H2 and CO, at least a portion of which are liquid at said reaction conditions and comprise said slurry liquid, wherein said HCN, NH3 or mixture thereof reversibly deactivates said catalyst and causes it to lose a portion of its catalytic activity, and wherein at least a portion of said lost catalytic activity is restored by contact with hydrogen in-situ in said slurry liquid, said catalyst comprising a catalytically active metal component and a particulate inorganic refractory oxide support component, and wherein the total amount of said HCN, NH3 or mixture thereof present in said synthesis gas passed into said reactor is less than 20 vppb, to achieve a reversibly deactivated short term catalyst half life of at least 20 days.
A method for increasing the productivity of a hydrocarbon synthesis reactor producing hydrocarbons from a synthesis feed gas comprising a mixture of H2 and CO, by passing said feed gas into said reactor, in which said H2 and CO react in the presence of a hydrocarbon synthesis catalyst therein at reaction conditions effective to produce hydrocarbons, a portion of which are liquid at the reaction conditions, wherein said feed gas contains NH3, HCN or mixture thereof in a total amount of greater than 20 vppb which reversibly deactivates said catalyst to produce a catalyst short term half life of less than 20 days, and wherein said catalytic activity is at least partially restored by continuously or intermittently rejuvenating said reversibly deactivated catalyst with hydrogen, said method comprising producing a synthesis gas having a total amount of said NH3, HCN or mixture thereof of less than 20 vppb, before it is passed into said reactor, to achieve a catalyst short term half life of at least 20 days, and thereby increase said reactor productivity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.