BIOPPRODUCTS FROM SYNGAS

Pamela Spath and David Dayton

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY/CONCLUSIONS
In principle, syngas can be produced from any hydrocarbon feedstock, including: natural
gas, naphtha, residual oil, petroleum coke, coal, and biomass. The lowest cost routes
for syngas production, however, are based on natural gas, the cheapest option being
remote or stranded reserves. Economic considerations dictate that the production of
liquid fuels from syngas today translates into the use of natural gas as the hydrocarbon
source. Nevertheless, the syngas production operation in a gas-to-liquids plant amounts
to greater than half of the capital cost of the plant. The choice of technology for syngas
production also depends on the scale of the synthesis operation. Syngas production
from solid fuels can require and even greater capital investment with the addition of
feedstock handling and more complex syngas purification operations. The greatest
impact on improving the economics of gas-to liquids plants can be had by decreasing
capital costs associated with syngas production and improving the thermal efficiency
with better heat integration and utilization. Improved thermal efficiency can be obtained
by combining the gas-to-liquids plant with a power generation plant to take advantage of
the availability of low-pressure steam.

The extensive research and development efforts devoted to syngas conversion to fuels
and chemicals are documented in a vast amount of literature that tracks the scientific
and technological advancements in syngas chemistry. The purpose of this report is to
review the many syngas to products processes and summarize the salient points
regarding the technology status and description, chemistry, catalysts, reactors, gas
cleanliness requirements, process and environmental performances, and economics.
Table 1 lists the products examined in this study and gives some facts about the
technology as well as advantages and disadvantages. Table 2 summarizes the
catalysts, process conditions, conversions, and selectivities for the various syngas to
products processes.
Table 1: Summary of Product Information – Facts, Advantages, & Disadvantages
Product Facts Advantages Disadvantages
H2 - Largest use of syngas - Appears to be the most cost - Delivered price can be significantly
- Predominately made via SMR competitive option for biomass greater than plant gate price
- Automakers working on H2 fueled
vehicles
- H2 itself is a clean fuel
- Concentrated CO2 stream
- Mature technology
- High yields
FTL - Existing plants in South Africa, - Yields petroleum products consistent - Low yields
Malaysia, and New Zealand with today’s fuel supply - Unavoidable broad range of
- Predominately made from coal but - Successful operation of slurry phase products; poor selectivity
South Africa switching some reactor
operating plants to natural gas - No sulfur and low aromatic products
- Many companies are examining - Reduced tailpipe emissions
FTL for stranded natural gas compared to conventional diesel
NH3 - Largest consumer of H2 - Mature technology - Toxic
nd
- 2 largest synthetic chemical
product
MeOH - Predominately from syngas made - Mature technology - Have to compete with mega
via SMR - Many uses for MeOH (formaldehyde, methanol plants
- Several automakers have acetic acid, DME, MTBE, MTG, - LPMeOH still in development stage
developed prototype direct MTO, MOGD) - Poor solubility in gasoline and
MeOH fuel cell vehicles - Fuel used as M100 and M85 phase separation problems
- Commodity chemical - Possible source of H2 & MeOH - M85 has not developed on a large
reforming is a practiced technology scale
DME - In situ dehydration of MeOH to DME
increases MeOH yields
- Many potential uses (diesel or
cooking fuel, refrigerant, chemical
feedstock)
Formaldehyde - Largest consumer of MeOH
- Demand driven by construction
industry

2
Product Facts Advantages Disadvantages
Acetic acid - Half of worldwide production
comes from MeOH carbonylation
MTO and - Low aromatic content in MOGD - No commercial MTO or MOGD
MOGD gasoline plants but UOP and HYDRO does
- Selectivity of olefins to gasoline & license a process that produces
diesel > 95% for MOGD ethylene and propylene
MTG - One plant in New Zealand built in - High quality, high octane gasoline - High amount of aromatics in
1985 but currently it produces gasoline
only MeOH - High decalene concentrations

TIGAS - MeOH to gasoline - No commercial plants

- TIGAS yields a lower quality
gasoline than MTG
Ethanol - Currently produced via direct - Is currently a fuel additive - No commercial plants from syngas
fermentation of carbohydrates or - Currently, has a tax credit - Many universities have worked on
hydration of ethylene - Compared to direct fermentation, fermentor designs but present
able to process nearly any biomass status of work for most is unknown
resource
Mixed alcohols - Alcohol fuels developed by many - More attractive blending stock than - No commercial plants
- Some tested in Europe MeOH - Low yields
- Lower CO:H2 ratio required - Poor selectivity
- Currently, there is little activity in
mixed alcohol synthesis
Oxosynthesis - Hydroformylation of olefins with - Lower CO:H2 ratio required - Very versatile process
products syngas
- Produces C3-C15 aldehydes
- Aldehydes typically converted to
alcohols and acids
Isosynthesis - Converts syngas to isobutene - Lower CO:H2 ratio required - No commercial plants
products and isobutane

3
Table 2: Summary of Syngas Conversion Processes and Conditions
Process Conditions
Process Catalyst T (°C) P (bar) H2:CO % conv Product Selectivity
(CO basis)
Fe 300-350 10-40 1.7:1 50-90 with α-olefins ASF -48% (max)
recycle gasoline 15-40% actual
Fischer-Tropsch
Co 200-240 7-12 2.15:1 Waxes ASF - 40% (max)
Synthesis
diesel
Ru Waxes
ZnO/Cr2O3 350 250-350 3:1 99% (25% > 99% with recycle
Methanol Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 220-275 50-100 max/pass –
Methanol
Synthesis 4-7%
actual/pass)
Ammonia Fe/FeO + additives 430-480 100-500 2-3:1 H2:N2 10-35/pass ammonia > 99% with recycle
(550 max)
Alkali/ZnO/Cr2O3 300-425 125-300 1:1 5-20% Branched
primary
alcohols
Alkali/Cu/ZnO(Al2O3) 275-310 50-100 2-3:1 20-30 Primary 30-45% C2+
Higher Alcohol alcohols 17-25% CO2
Synthesis Alkali/CuO/CoO 260-340 60-200 0.5-4:1 5-30 Linear ASF
primary
alcohols
Alkali/MoS2 260-350 30-175 1:1 10 linear 75-90% C2+ in liquid
alcohols product
Co carbonyl 110-200 200-300 1:1 + olefin
Co – P modified 160-200 50-100 1:1 + olefin C11-C14
Oxosynthesis alcohols
Rh – P modified 60-120 7-25 1:1 + C4 > 90%
propylene aldehydes
Isosynthesis ThO2 400-450 100-1000 0.85:1 40-50
(300) i-C4
ZrO2 300-425 350 1:1 30 15
Steam Methane Ni 850 15-30 na 100% CH4 Syngas/
Reforming conversion hydrogen

4
1 INTRODUCTION
In its simplest form, syngas is composed of two diatomic molecules, CO and H2, that
provide the building blocks upon which an entire field of fuel science and technology is
based. Over the years, the gaseous mixture of CO and H2 has had many names
depending on how it was formed; producer gas, town gas, blue water gas, synthesis
gas, and syngas, to name a few. In the 1800’s coal gasification was used to provide
much of the syngas used for lighting and heating. The beginning of the 20th century saw
the dawn of fuels and chemicals synthesis from syngas.

The synthesis of hydrocarbons from CO hydrogenation was discovered in 1902 by

Sabatier and Sanderens who produced methane by passing CO and H2 over Ni, Fe, and
Co catalysts. At about the same time, the first commercial hydrogen from syngas
produced from steam methane reforming was commercialized. Haber and Bosch
discovered the synthesis of ammonia from H2 and N2 in 1910 and the first industrial
ammonia synthesis plant was commissioned in 1913. The production of liquid
hydrocarbons and oxygenates from syngas conversion over iron catalysts was
discovered in 1923 by Fischer and Tropsch. Variations on this synthesis pathway were
soon to follow for the selective production of methanol, mixed alcohols, and isosynthesis
products. Another outgrowth of Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) was the
hydroformylation of olefins discovered in 1938.

Much of the syngas conversion processes were being developed in Germany during the
first and second world wars at a time when natural resources were becoming scare and
alternative routes for hydrogen production, ammonia synthesis, and transportation fuels
were a necessity. Thus the poor economics of some of these syngas conversion
processes were of little consequence. With the development of the petroleum industry in
the 1940’s and beyond, the unattractive economics of many of these syngas routes
became an issue and were replaced by petroleum-based processes. To this day,
however, methanol and ammonia are still produced from syngas using essentially the
same processes originally developed and, apart from hydrogen production, constitute
the major uses of syngas.

While petroleum-derived transportation fuels and chemicals were taking center stage in
the worldwide market, certain political and environmental drivers were helping to develop
improved commercial syngas conversion processes. The political situation in South
Africa and the abundance of local coal reserves in that country helped bring about the
most successful commercial FTS industry in the world based on syngas production from
coal gasification. Sasol currently supplies diesel, gasoline, and other high-value
hydrocarbons to local and global markets. The Arab oil embargo in the 1970’s also
highlighted the US dependence on foreign oil imports and helped renew interest in
syngas conversion technologies.

The increasing environmental concerns and tighter regulations surrounding fossil fuel
use also provided impetus for syngas conversion technologies to produce cleaner
(virtually no sulfur) fuels and chemicals. The use of methanol and isobutene for the
production of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), an octane enhancing oxygenated
component in reformulated gasoline, also increased demand for syngas conversion
technologies. MTBE itself, however, is becoming an environmental concern as a

5
watershed pollutant and the future use of this oxygenate is uncertain. The latest
environmental driver to likely increase demand for syngas even more is the goal of
establishing a hydrogen economy. The vision is for hydrogen to be the fuel of choice for
transportation and electricity generation via high efficiency, environmentally benign fuel
cells.

In principle, syngas can be produced from any hydrocarbon feedstock, including: natural
gas, naphtha, residual oil, petroleum coke, coal, and biomass. The lowest cost routes
for syngas production, however, are based on natural gas, the cheapest option being
remote or stranded reserves. Economic considerations dictate that the production of
liquid fuels from syngas today translates into the use of natural gas as the hydrocarbon
source. Nevertheless, the syngas production operation in a gas-to-liquids plant amounts
to greater than half of the capital cost of the plant. The choice of technology for syngas
production also depends on the scale of the synthesis operation. Syngas production
from solid fuels can require and even greater capital investment with the addition of
feedstock handling and more complex syngas purification operations. The greatest
impact on improving the economics of gas-to liquids plants can be had by decreasing
capital costs associated with syngas production and improving the thermal efficiency
with better heat integration and utilization. Improved thermal efficiency can be obtained
by combining the gas-to-liquids plant with a power generation plant to take advantage of
the availability of low-pressure steam.

The syngas composition, most importantly the H2/CO ratio, varies as a function of
production technology and feedstock. Steam methane reforming yields H2/CO ratios of
3/1 while coal gasification yields ratios closer to unity or lower. Conversely, the required
properties of the syngas are a function of the synthesis process. Fewer moles of
product almost always occur when H2 and CO are converted to fuels and chemicals.
Consequently, syngas conversion processes are more thermodynamically favorable at
higher H2 and CO partial pressures. The optimum pressures depend on the specific
synthesis process.

With the exception of methane steam reforming, catalytic syngas conversion processes
are exothermic reactions generating large excesses of heat. This highlights the specific
need for removing this heat of reaction to carefully control reaction temperatures to
maintain optimized process conditions. Maximizing product yields, minimizing side or
competing reactions, and maintaining catalyst integrity dictate optimum synthesis
reaction temperatures.

Catalysts play a pivotal role in syngas conversion reactions, in fact, fuels and chemicals
synthesis from syngas does not occur in the absence of appropriate catalysts. The
basic concept of a catalytic reaction is that reactants adsorb onto the catalyst surface
and rearrange and combine into products that desorb from the surface. One of the
fundamental functional differences between syngas synthesis catalysts is whether or not
the adsorbed CO molecule dissociates on the catalyst surface. For FTS and higher
alcohol synthesis, CO dissociation is a necessary reaction condition. For methanol
synthesis the CO bond remains intact. Hydrogen has two roles in catalytic syngas
synthesis reactions. In addition to being a reactant needed for CO hydrogenation, it is
usually used to reduce the metalized synthesis catalysts and activate the metal surface.

Since the genesis of syngas conversion to fuels and chemicals a tremendous amount of
research and development has been devoted to optimizing product yields and process

6
efficiencies. This includes the discovery of catalysts with optimized formulations
containing the most active metals in combination with appropriate additives to improve
activity and selectivity in a given process. Mechanistic studies have been conducted to
interpret the fundamentals of specific conversion processes and measure the kinetic
rates of key chemical reactions. Reactor design and engineering is another active
research and development area of syngas conversion technology. Temperature control
and stability in conversion reactors is a critical process parameter because of the large
excess heat of reaction. Detailed process engineering and integration with respect to
heat integration and syngas recycle to improve conversion efficiencies is used optimize
commercial synthesis processes.

Given the rich history of syngas conversion and the extensive research and
development efforts devoted to this field of study, it is not surprising that a vast amount
of literature is available that tracks the scientific and technological advancements in
syngas chemistry. The purpose of this report is to review the many syngas to products
processes and summarize the salient points regarding the technology status and
description, chemistry, catalysts, reactors, gas cleanliness requirements, process and
environmental performances, and economics. A diagram highlighting the specific
processes reviewed in this report is shown in Figure 1.

Waxes Olefins
Diesel Gasoline
MTBE
Mixed Acetic Acid
acidic ion exchange
Alcohols Fischer-Tropsch
Formaldehyde
Fe, Co, Ru

isobutylene

Cu/ZnO zeolites
Isosynthesis Syngas Olefins
i-C4 Methanol Gasoline
ThO 2 or ZrO 2
CO + H2 MTO
MTG
Al2O3

H2O
WGS
Purify DME
M100
N2 over Fe/FeO Ethanol M85
NH3
(K2O, Al2O3, CaO)
H2 Aldehydes
DMFC
Alcohols

Figure 1: Diagram of Syngas Conversion Processes Covered in This Report

7
2 HYDROGEN
2.1 Introduction

The largest use of syngas is for hydrogen production (Wender, 1996). Hydrogen is
produced as both a main product and as a by-product. Hydrogen producers often
consume the product captively (e.g., ammonia producers, oil refineries, and methanol
producers). The total amount of hydrogen consumed worldwide in 1999 was 15,864
billion ft3 and 20% of this was consumed in the U.S. (Suresh, et al, 2001). The majority
of the worldwide hydrogen consumption (about 60%) was for ammonia production. This
was followed by refining at 23% and methanol production at 9%, leaving only 8% as
merchant hydrogen.

Currently, hydrogen is primarily produced from methane. However, other hydrocarbon

feedstocks include naphtha, heavy residues from petrochemical processes, coke oven
gas, and coal. Electrolysis has also been used to produce hydrogen primarily where
there is cheap electricity from hydropower stations. Presently, 77% of the worldwide
hydrogen production comes from petrochemicals, 18 % from coal, 4 % from water
electrolysis, and 1% from other sources (Häussinger, et al, 2000). The flexibility of
hydrogen to be produced from any resource enables production from locally available,
lowest-cost resources.

2.2 Technology Description

The dominant technology for hydrogen production today is steam methane reforming.
The process can be divided into the following four steps: feed pretreatment, steam
reforming, CO shift conversion, and hydrogen purification. For natural gas the only
pretreatment required is desulfurization, which usually consists of a hydrogenator
followed by a zinc oxide bed. After desulfurization, natural gas is fed to a reformer
reactor, where it reacts with steam to produce CO, CO2, and H2. The reformer reactor is
comprised of catalyst-filled tubes, surrounded by a firebox that provides the heat
necessary for the endothermic reforming reaction, which operates at about 850°C and
between 1.5-3 MPa. The gas exiting the reformer is cooled to about 350°C then
undergoes the water gas shift (WGS) reaction (CO + H2O € CO2 + H2) in a high
temperature shift (HTS) converter.

In the “classical process”, the gas is further cooled to about 220°C and undergoes WGS
in a low temperature shift (LTS) converter followed by CO2 scrubbing (e.g.,
monoethanolamine or hot potash). Finally, to remove trace amounts of CO and CO2 a
methanation reactor is used (CO + 3H2 € CH4 + H2O). The product hydrogen has a
purity of 97-99%.

Today, after the shift conversion step, hydrogen is purified using a pressure swing
adsorption (PSA) unit to obtain purity greater than 99.99%. Since the PSA unit can
easily remove CO and other components to produce a high purity hydrogen stream,
most of today’s hydrogen plants use only the HTS reactor (Leiby, 1994). However, the
LTS reactor can increase the hydrogen yield slightly. The PSA off-gas, which contains
unreacted CH4, CO, and CO2, plus unrecovered hydrogen, is used to fuel the reformer.
This stream usually supplies 80-90% of the reformer heat duty supplemented by natural

8
gas to fulfill the remaining heat requirement (Leiby, 1994). Figure 2 is a block flow
diagram of this process.

Figure 2: Block Flow Diagram of Hydrogen via Steam Methane Reforming

2.3 Hydrogen From Other Compounds

In addition to the direct production of hydrogen from gaseous hydrocarbon feedstocks,

hydrogen can be produced from liquid energy carriers such as ethanol and methanol as
well as from ammonia. Methanol reforming (CH3OH + H2O € CO2 + 3H2) is practiced in
Japan and to a small degree in Europe where there are no economical sources of
syngas (Suresh, et al, 2001). Currently, there are about a dozen companies that are
involved in building plants to produce hydrogen from methanol or ammonia.

2.4 Chemistry

Steam reforming of hydrocarbons involves the catalytic conversion of a hydrocarbon

feedstock and steam to hydrogen and carbon oxides. Generally speaking, the chemical
process for steam reforming of hydrocarbons is described by the following equation
(Häussinger, et al, 2000):

CnHm + nH2O € (n+m/2)H2 + nCO

Water gas shift is another important reaction that occurs in the reformer. For steam
methane reforming the following two reactions occur in the reformer (Leiby, 1994):

CH4 + H2O € 3H2 + CO ΔHr = 49.3 kcal/mol

CO + H2O € H2 + CO2 ΔHr = -9.8 kcal/mol

Therefore, in this case 50% of the hydrogen comes from the steam. The reforming
reaction is highly endothermic and is favored by high temperatures and low pressures.
Higher pressures tend to lower the methane conversion. In industrial reformers the
reforming and shift reactions result in a product composition that closely approaches
equilibrium.

The following side reactions produce carbon in the steam reformer:

9
2CO € C(s) + CO2 (Boudouard coking)
CO + H2 € C(s) + H2O (CO reduction)
CH4€ C(s) + 2H2 (Methane cracking)

The reformer molar steam to carbon ratio is usually between 2-6 depending on the
feedstock and process conditions. Excess steam is used to prevent coking in the
reformer tubes. The shift reaction is exothermic and favors low temperatures. Since it
does not approach completion in the reformer (usually there is 10-15 vol% CO, dry
basis, in the reformer effluent), further conversion of CO is performed using shift
conversion catalysts.

2.5 Catalysts

Conventional steam reforming catalysts are 10-33 wt% NiO on a mineral support
(alumina, cement, or magnesia). Reforming catalyst suppliers include BASF, Dycat
International, Haldor Topsoe, ICI Katalco and United Catalysts (Leiby, 1994). Heavy
feedstocks tend to coke the reforming catalyst but promoters (potassium, lanthanum,
ruthenium, and cerium) may be used to help this problem. These promoters increase
steam gasification of solid carbon reducing coke formation but they also reduce the
reforming activity of the catalyst (Leiby, 1994). For feedstocks heavier than naphtha,
nickel-free catalysts containing mostly strontium, aluminum and calcium oxides have
been successfully tested (Häussinger, et al, 2000). However, the methane content in
the exiting gas is high requiring a secondary reformer.

HTS catalyst has an iron oxide, chromium oxide basis while the major component in the
LTS catalyst is copper oxide usually in a mixture with zinc oxide (Häussinger, et al,
2000). The HTS reactor operates in the temperature range of 300-450 °C while the LTS
is in the range of 180-270 °C. Often the LTS reactor operates near condensation
conditions. This catalyst is sensitive to changes in operating conditions. Typical catalyst
lifetimes for both HTS and LTS catalysts are 3-5 years.

Sulfur tolerant or “dirty shift” catalysts have also been developed that can handle larger
amounts of sulfur. ICI Katalco makes dirty shift conversion catalysts that consist of
cobalt and molybdenum oxides. They operate over a temperature range of 230-500 °C.
The controlling factors are the ratio of steam to sulfur in the feed gas and the catalyst
temperature.

For the methanantion catalyst, nickel oxide is used often in combination with chromium
oxide.

2.6 Reactors

A wide variety of reformer designs exist and can be used in various process
configurations. The main components of the reformer furnace include an air/fuel
combustion system, a radiant heat transfer section, and a convection section. The
radiant section supplies heat to the catalyst tubes by combustion of the air/fuel mixture
and the convection section recovers heat by cooling down the flue gases. Reformer

10
furnaces are not very efficient and only about half of the heat in the radiant section is
absorbed by the furnace tubes.

Generally, the feed gas flows up through the catalyst tubes. However, the reformer
furnace can be side-, terrace-, top-, or bottom-fired (Johansen, 1992). Top-fired
reformers are generally suited for larger production units. For small units of < 24 tubes,
side-fired units are more economical. The terrace-fired reformer was developed in the
1960s is a variation of the side-wall design. Bottom-fired reformers are the least
common of the four designs (Leiby, 1994).

The shift converters and methanation reactor are fixed bed reactors.

2.7 Gas Cleanliness Requirements

Sulfur compounds are the main poison of reforming catalysts. Even at a concentration
of 0.1 ppm the catalyst can begin to deactivate. To maintain a 3-year catalyst lifetime the
sulfur concentration in the reformer feed gas should be less than 0.5 ppm (Leiby, 1994).
Uranium oxide and chromium oxide are used as a promoter in certain reforming
catalysts resulting in a higher tolerance to sulfur poisoning (Häussinger, 2000). Natural
gas usually contains only small amounts of sulfur compounds generally in the form of
H2S. In most SMR plants, prior to the steam reformer, there is a hydrogenator where
sulfur compounds are converted to H2S. A desulfurizer follows this where the H2S in the
feed gas is absorbed on a ZnO bed. Any remaining organic sulfur compounds and
carbonyl sulfide are partially cracked and absorbed on the zinc oxide bed (Häussinger,
et al, 2000). If the sulfur concentration in the feed gas is greater than 1% then the sulfur
must be removed by chemical or physical scrubbing.

The LTS catalyst is also very sensitive to sulfur. Additionally, chloride is a LTS catalyst
poison. HTS catalyst can tolerate sulfur concentrations up to several hundred ppm,
although the activity will decline. Other HTS catalyst poisons include phosphorus, silicon
and unsaturated hydrocarbons in the presence of NOx (Häussinger, 2000).

Prior to the PSA unit, entrained liquids (water and condensed hydrocarbons) must be
removed because they will permanently damage the adsorbent, which is a mixture of
activated carbon and zeolites. Cooling the product and installing a knock out drum with
a mist eliminator prior to the PSA unit is usually sufficient.

2.8 Status/Technology Developers

BASF was the first company to develop steam methane reforming in the early 1900s
(Nirula, 1995). In the mid-1930s to 1950s steam reforming was developed for heavier
hydrocarbon feedstocks. Thereafter, energy efficiency improvements were made in this
mature technology by the 1980s. There are many licensors for the various components
of the steam reforming process. Table 3 is a list of licensors for steam reforming
technology and Table 4 is a list of current commercial suppliers of PSA units.

11
Table 3: Catalytic Steam Reforming Licensors
Company Headquarters Location
ABB Lummus Global INc. Bloomfield, NJ, U.S.A.
Air Products and Chemicals Allentown, PA, U.S.A.
BOC Gases Murray Hill, NJ, U.S.A.
Brown & Root, Inc. Alhambra, CA, U.S.A.
John Brown Engineers & Constructors Ltd. London, England
Caloric Gräfelfing, Germany
Exxon Research & Engineering Co. Florham Park, NJ, U.S.A.
Haldor Topsoe A/S Copenhagen, Denmark
Howe-Baker Engineers Tyler, TX, U.S.A.
International Fuel Cells South Windsor, CT, U.S.A.
JGC Corporation Tokyo, Japan
KTI Group BV Zoetermeer, Netherlands
Koch Process Technology Incorporated Roswell, GA, U.S.A.
Linde AG Munich, Germany
Lurgi AG Frankfurt, Germany
Mahler AGS Stuttgart, Germany
Messer Griesheim GmbH Krefeld, Germany
The MW Kellogg Company Houston, TX, U.S.A.
PETROBRAS – Petróleo Basileiro S/A Ro de Janeiro, Brazil
Uhde GmbH Dortmund, Germany
From : (Suresh, et al, 2001 and Leiby, 1994)

Table 4: Commercial Suppliers of PSA Units

Company Headquarters Location
L’Air Liquide SA Paris, France
Air Products and Chemicals St. Louis, MO, U.S.A.
Bergbau AG Herne, Germany
The BOC Group PLC Windlesham, United Kingdom
Caloric Analgenbau Munich, Germany
Howmar United Kingdom
Linde AG Munich, Germany
Questor Industries, Inc. Vancouver, BC, Canada
Toyo Engineering Tokyo, Japan
UOP, LLC Des Plaines, IL, U.S.A.
From: (Suresh, et al, 2001)

2.9 Process Performance

About 65-75% of the CO and steam in the feed stream to the HTS reactor are converted
to additional hydrogen and CO2 (Leiby, 1994). When a LTS reactor is used to convert
additional CO to hydrogen about 80-90% of the remaining CO is converted to hydrogen
resulting in an improvement in the hydrogen yield of about 5% (Leiby, 1994).

For the PSA unit, the minimum pressure ratio between the feed and purge gas is about
4:1 and the purge gas pressure is typically between 17-20 psi to obtain a high recovery
of hydrogen. Hydrogen recovery is usually 85-90% at these conditions and drops to 60-
80% at high purge gas pressures (55-95 psi) (Leiby, 1994). The PSA efficiency is also
affected by adsorption temperature. Fewer impurities are adsorbed at higher

12
temperatures because the equilibrium capacity of the molecular sieves decreases with
increasing temperature. Additionally, nitrogen is weakly adsorbed onto the adsorbent
bed in the PSA unit, reducing the hydrogen recovery rate for the same purity. The
hydrogen recovery may be reduced by as much as 2.5% for a 10-ppm nitrogen
concentration in the PSA feed stream.

2.10 Environmental Performance

Hydrogen itself is a clean burning fuel. However, depending upon the feedstock used,
its production can generate a considerable amount of CO2. Additionally, steam
reformers produce NOx from fuel combustion. In California, selective catalytic reduction
units are used in combination with low NOx burners to meet the state’s strict air
regulations (Baade, et al, 2001). Controlling the emissions from less hydrogen-rich
feedstocks is more difficult as the feedstock goes from natural gas to heavy fuel oil,
coke, or coal. These feedstocks also contain other impurities such as sulfur and heavy
metals.

2.11 Cost

Merchant hydrogen prices vary considerably depending on the volume and form of
delivery. For large volume users, pipeline is the most economical followed by bulk liquid
hydrogen delivery. For gaseous hydrogen produced from natural gas at a large-scale,
central production facility at a pressure of around 400 psi, the plant gate price is about
$5-$8/GJ. In general, contract prices for delivered hydrogen are not publicly available
and they vary a great deal depending on the type of delivery, quantity required, and
delivery distance. SRI states that liquid hydrogen list prices have been around $45/GJ,
but that the average transaction prices are considerably below this (Suresh, et al, 2001).
A typical price range for large-volume, bulk liquid consumers is $18-$24/GJ (Suresh, et
al, 2001).

Generally, as the feedstock goes from natural gas to light hydrocarbons to heavy
hydrocarbons and then to solid feedstocks, there is an increase in processing difficulty
and capital costs. Table 5 is a comparison of detailed biomass to hydrogen studies.
Table 6 gives some costs for hydrogen from natural gas, coal, and biomass from other
sources containing little or no details. All of these numbers are plant gate costs.

13
Table 5: Comparison of Biomass Based Hydrogen Studies
Study Hamelinck (2001) Larson (1992) Spath (2000) (a)
(a), (b) (a)
Cost year 2001 1991 2000
Biomass feed rate 1,920 1,650 about 300-1,500
(BD tonne/day) (3 plant sizes)
Biomass cost $2/GJ $2/GJ $2.7/GJ
$34/dry tonne $34/dry tonne $46.2/dry tonne
Electricity selling $0.03/kWh $0.05/kWh $0.05/kWh
price (purchased) (purchased)
Net power (MW) ranges from no no excess no excess
excess to about 85 (excess steam is
MW (@ 91% produced and
production cap) sold)
H2 produced 91 – 184 (@ 91% 134 - 188 23 – 114
(tonne/day) production cap)
Price of H2 (HHV $8-11/GJ $7-12/GJ $14-21/GJ
basis, plant gate) (for 15% IRR;
gasification only)
Level of detail Very detailed - Gives Somewhat Somewhat
costs of individual detailed – Gives detailed - Gives
equipment, operating capital and total installed
costs, and other operating costs capital costs, and
economic parameters other economic
and assumptions parameters and
assumptions
Notes: (a) Examined direct & indirect gasifiers and atmospheric and pressurized gasifiers.
(b) Several configurations examined (varied type of gas cleaning, and H2 separation)

Table 6: Hydrogen Cost Data From other Sources

Resource IEA (1999) IEA McKinley, British Grégoire Amick
(2001) et al (1990) Government Padró (2003)
Panel (1999) (1999)
Natural $5.6/GJ $5.4- $7/GJ $5.7/GJ $5.97- -----
gas (nat gas @ 7.5/GJ (1987$) (nat gas @ 7.46/GJ
$3/GJ) $3/GJ)

$7/GJ $7/GJ
(w/CO2 seq) (w/CO2 seq)

Coal $10/GJ $10- $15/GJ $10.3/GJ $9.87- $9-10/GJ

(coal @ 12/GJ (1987$) (coal @ 19.3/GJ
$2/GJ) $2/GJ)

$13/GJ $13.2/GJ
(w/CO2 seq) (w/CO2 seq)
Biomass ----- $12- $7/GJ ----- $8.69- -----
13/GJ (Biomass 17.1/GJ
@ $15/ton
- 1987$)

14
2.12 References

Amick, P. Geosits, R., Kramer, S. (2003). 225th ACS National Meeting. New Orleans,
Louisiana. March 23-27. Fuel Chemistry Preprints. 48 (1) pg. 199-204.

Baade, W.F.; Parekh, U.N.; Raman, V.S. (2001). "Hydrogen." Kirk-Othmer

Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

British Government Panel on Sustainable Development . July 1999.

Grégoire Padró, C.E.; Putsche, V. (1999). Survey of the Economics of Hydrogen

Technologies. 57 pp.; NREL Report No. TP-570-27079.

Häussinger, P.; Lohmüller, R.; Watson, A.M. (2000). "Hydrogen." Ullmann's

Encyclopedia of Industrial. Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co.KGaA.

IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (1999) Hydrogen – Today and Tomorrow.

IEA Bioenergy Task 33: Thermal Gasification of Biomass, Spring 2001, Task Meeting.

Johansen, T.; Raghuraman, K.S.; Hackett, L.A. (1992). “Trens in hydrogen plant
design”. Hydrocarbon Processing.

Leiby, S.M. (1994). Options for Refinery Hydrogen. SRI Report No. 212. Menlo Park,
CA.

McKinley, K.R., Browne, S.H., Neill, D.R., Seki, A., Takahashi, P.K. (1990). “Hydrogen
Fuel from Renewable Resouorces”. Energy Sources. Vol 12. pp. 105-110.

Nirula, S.C. (1995). Synthesis Gas. SRI Report No. 148A. Menlo Park, CA.

Suresh, B.; Gubler, R.; Sasano, T. (2001). "Hydrogen." Chemical Economics Handbook
Product Review, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA. Reprot number 743.5000.

Spath, P.L.; Lane, J.M; Mann, M.K; Amos, W.A. (April 2000). Update of Hydrogen from
Biomass - Determination of the Delivered Cost of Hydrogen. NREL Milestone
report.

Wender, I. (1996). "Reactions of synthesis gas." Fuel Processing Technology 48(3):

189-297.

15
3 AMMONIA
3.1 Introduction

Ammonia is the second largest synthetic chemical product. In 1996, worldwide

ammonia production totaled 143 million tonnes (Appl 2003). Most of the ammonia
produced is used to make fertilizers in the form of urea or ammonium salts (nitrate,
phosphate, and sulfate). A small fraction of ammonia is used for the manufacture of
organic chemical feedstocks for the plastics industry; polyamides, caprolactam, and
others, and for the production of explosives (hydrazine, nitriles, etc.). Ammonia is also
converted to nitric acid and cyanides. Ammonia is manufactured from nitrogen, fixed
from the atmosphere, and hydrogen, produced mainly by steam methane reforming, in
the catalytic process developed in the early 1900’s by Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch using
a promoted iron catalyst discovered by Alwin Mittasch (Satterfield 1991). The onset of
World War I brought concerns about diminished worldwide nitrate supplies caused by an
increase in the production of explosives. This led to the first industrial plant constructed
at Oppau in Germany and commissioned in 1913. About 50% of the hydrogen produced
from syngas processes is used for ammonia production (Wender).

The vast amount of literature on ammonia synthesis over the past 100 years details
process improvements, reactor engineering, catalyst developments, and mechanistic
interpretation of the conversion of N2 and H2 to NH3 over Fe catalysts at high
temperature and high pressure. Several reviews on ammonia production were
consulted in writing this technology description (Kirth-Othmer)(Appl 2003; Jennings and
Ward 1989; Satterfield 1991) and individual references to previous work can be found
therein. For example, the “Ammonia” article in Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial
Chemistry contains over 1000 cited references (Appl 2003). Numerous books and entire
journals such as Nitrogen and Ammonia Plant Safety are can be found that are
dedicated to all aspects of ammonia synthesis.

Commercial ammonia synthesis catalysts are basically the same Fe promoted catalysts
first developed by Mittasch. The search for catalysts with high activity and long lifetimes
at lower synthesis temperatures and lower pressures continues. Recent developments
in ammonia synthesis catalysts include Ru-based formulations that are showing promise
for commercial applications.

Improved catalysts and process optimization are part of the continuing efforts to improve
the economics of ammonia production by reducing process energy consumption.
Energy consumption in ammonia plants has decreased nearly an order of magnitude
since the early plants; from ~100 GJ/tonne NH3 to ~30 GJ/tonne NH3 (Jennings and
Ward 1989). Part of this is a result of improved efficiencies in syngas (hydrogen)
production by switching fuels, from coal to natural gas. Improved reactor design and
optimized heat integration in the ammonia plant also contributes significantly to reducing
energy consumption. One objective is to optimize heat recovery and minimize the
capital and operating costs of the ammonia synthesis loop.

3.2 Technology Description

16
The basic process steps for industrial ammonia production are synthesis gas production,
gas conditioning, compression, and ammonia synthesis. The goal of the synthesis gas
production and gas conditioning operations is to provide a pure H2 stream for input into
the ammonia converter. This requires a number of unit operations including feedstock
pretreatment, syngas generation, CO conversion, and gas purification. These individual
operations are summarized in the generic block flow diagram in Figure 3.

Steam Air
Gas

Gas
Gas Primary Secondary CO Shift
Pretreatment
Pretreatment Reforming Reforming Conversion
Hydrodesulfurization SMR Partial Oxidation High and Low
ZnO adsorption Temperature
Saturation
CO2
H2 Recycle

Compression Methanation CO2 Removal

MEA/DEA
Rectisol (CH3OH)
Selexol
Synthesis Gas K2CO3
Recycle Purge

Ammonia Product
Refrigeration
Synthesis

Figure 3: Generic Ammonia Synthesis Process Flow Diagram

For natural gas plants, feedstock pretreatment is essentially desulfurization prior to
steam methane reforming. Feedstock preparation and handling is more complicated for
solid fuel based systems. Secondary reformers are also used to further decrease the
hydrocarbon content in the syngas. Following the reforming section, the syngas is
cleaned and conditioned. Syngas cleaning is more involved for solid fuel based
processes. Conditioning the cleaned syngas is required to increase the yield and purity
of the hydrogen that is produced. CO is converted to H2 via the water gas shift reaction
in high and low temperature shift reactors. Water is removed by cooling the syngas and
CO2 is removed in an absorber-stripper process. Residual CO and CO2 in the product
H2 is reduced to lower levels by what amounts to the reverse steam methane reforming
process. A fraction the H2 is consumed in a methanation reactor to convert residual CO
and CO2 to CH4. Purified H2 is then compressed and fed to the ammonia synthesis loop.
Another configuration would be to replace the following process steps: low temperature
shift, CO2 removal, methanation and possibly the secondary reformer with pressure
swing adsorption. It is also possible to replace the reforming section with an autothermal
reformer. However, currently the majority of ammonia plants follow the process scheme
shown in Figure 3.

Ammonia synthesis is achieved in catalytic converters at pressures ranging from 15-35

MPa at a minimum temperature of 430-480°C. A maximum temperature of ~550°C
results from the balance between increasing reaction kinetics and decreasing the
equilibrium NH3 concentration as the temperature increases. Thermodynamics suggests

17
that low process temperatures are favorable, however, the kinetics of the reactions
dictates that high temperatures are required. The most effective catalysts from a
process perspective are those that have the highest rate of conversion at the lowest
temperatures (Jennings and Ward 1989). With effective gas cleanup and conditioning,
catalyst lifetimes of 5-8 years can be achieved in commercial practice and up to 14 years
in certain cases. Ammonia formation increases as the process pressure is increased.
The optimum H2/N2 ratio is near 2 at high space velocities and approaches 3 at low
space velocities as equilibrium becomes more dominant. Space velocities in
commercial ammonia synthesis vary from 12,000/hr at 15 MPa to 35,000/hr at 80MPa
(Appl 2003).

Per pass conversion on the order of 10-35% is typically achieved. Ammonia is

recovered from the synthesis loop by cooling the synthesis gas at process pressures to
condense the ammonia. The liquid ammonia is separated from the gas, which is
recycled back through the converter. Earlier plant designs used air or water-cooling for
ammonia recovery. Modern synthesis plants use refrigeration to condense out the
ammonia.

The ammonia recovery is not extremely efficient so the recycled gas typically contains
4% NH3 plus any inert gases (Ar, He, CH4, etc.) that may be in the process stream.
Purging some of the gas in the recycle loop before it is recycled minimizes inert gas
concentrations. This purged gas also contains some product NH3 that is recovered,
unconverted N2 and H2, plus the inert gases. The purged H2 is recovered and recycled
back to the converter or used as a fuel in the process. Some of the inert gases also end
up dissolved in the condensed NH3 product. Flashing the liquid ammonia in a pressure
letdown step releases any dissolved gases that are separated from the product.

Clearly, the ammonia synthesis process consists of many complex unit operations apart
from the actual synthesis loop. The way in which these process components are
combined with respect to mass and energy flow has a major influence on efficiency and
reliability. Apart from the feedstock, many of the differences between various
commercial ammonia processes lie in the way in which the process elements are
integrated.

3.3 Chemistry

Ammonia synthesis occurs via the following exothermic chemical reaction:

N2 + 3H2 → 2 NH3 ∆H773K = -109 kJ/mol; ∆H298K = -46.22 kJ/mol

Since the reaction is exothermic, maximum conversion at equilibrium occurs at high

pressure and low temperature. Early attempts at ammonia production were hampered
by a lack of understanding of thermodynamic equilibrium and the temperatures and
pressures chosen for ammonia synthesis were unfavorable for reaction.

Ammonia synthesis is typically performed over promoted Fe-catalysts. Numerous

mechanistic studies based on the measurement of surface adsorbed species have
determined that the rate-limiting step is the dissociative chemisorption of N2 on the

18
catalyst surface to form N atoms. Surface concentration of N atoms is governed by the
equilibrium with gas phase H2 and NH3.

The following rate expression for ammonia synthesis was developed by Temkin and
Pyzhev in 1940 and has been widely applied to ammonia converter design and
development (Jennings and Ward 1989) and references therein):
α β
⎛ P 3 ⎞ ⎛P 2⎞
r = k1 PN ⎜ H2 ⎟ – k
⎜ NH3 ⎟ α + β = 1 α, β > 0
2
⎜P 2 ⎟ 2⎜ 3
⎟
⎝ NH3 ⎠ ⎝ PH 2 ⎠

where the first term is the rate of ammonia formation and the second term is the rate of
ammonia decomposition. This rate expression is valid over a very wide pressure range
with fugacities substituted for pressures at very high pressure. The value for α ranges
between 0.4-0.75 for commercial processes where ammonia is recycled back to the
reactor. Clearly, this expression is not valid for zero ammonia concentrations that are
often encountered in the laboratory. For process using only pure reactants without
ammonia recycle, the following rate equation applies:

r = kPHα 1−
α = 0.5
2
PNα2

3.4 Catalysts

Mittasch screened over 2000 catalyst compositions before developing a promoted Fe

catalyst that is, in principle, still commercially used today. Catalysts usually contain
multiple promoters to improve the effectiveness and stability of the catalysts for long
periods of time.

Ammonia synthesis catalysts are made by cooling, casting, crushing, and sieving a
fused melt of magnetite ore (Fe3O4) and promoter precursors. Promoters include Al2O3,
K2O, CaO, MgO, etc. One of the functions of the promoters is to minimize Fe sintering
during reduction and reaction. K2O is a structural promoter. Typical ammonia synthesis
catalysts contain: 2.5-4% Al2O3, 0.5-1.2% K2O, 2.0-3.5% CaO, 0-1.0% MgO, and 0.2-
0.5% SiO2 (naturally occurring in the magnetite ore). Commercial catalyst formulations
are listed in Table 7.

Finely divide iron is pyrophoric so Fe-catalysts are reduced to metallic form in situ in
ammonia converters. Porosity is developed as the catalysts are reduced. During
reduction, oxygen is removed from the magnetite crystal lattice without shrinkage.
Metallic Fe is formed with essentially the same porous structure as the magnetite
precursor (Jennings and Ward 1989). The production and preservation of this highly
porous structure during reduction of the ammonia synthesis catalysts leads to highly
active catalysts. The additions of structural promoters like Al2O3, MgO, and Cr2O3 is to
facilitate the formation of highly porous metallic iron. Surface areas of freshly reduced
promoted iron ammonia synthesis catalysts can be as high as 15-20 m2/g.

Catalyst activity is not directly associated with Fe surface area but is also related to the
complex interactions of the promoters. Alkali metal promoters in ammonia synthesis

19
catalysts are needed to attain high activity. Potassium is the most cost effective alkali
promoter. Cs and Rb are effective promoters but more costly than K. Li and Na are
poor promoters and not used commercially. Potassium is thought to interact with the Fe
crystallites by increasing the dissociative sticking probability of N2 on the Fe sites and
increasing catalytic activity. Dissociative adsorption of H2 on the Fe sites occurs rapidly
at relatively low temperatures. Equilibrium is, therefore, attained for H2
adsorption/desorption at ammonia synthesis temperatures.

Other catalysts are being developed such as promoted Ru on high surface area graphite
supports. These recently commercial catalysts offer the possibility of greatly reducing
synthesis temperatures and pressures with improved activity at high ammonia
concentrations. The Kellogg Advanced Ammonia Process is based on a Ru catalyst that
is claimed to be 40% more active than Fe catalysts.

Table 7: Summary of Commercial Ammonia Synthesis Catalyst Compositions

Catalyst Composition (wt%) Operating Ranges
#
Vendor Name Fe oxides K2O Al2O3 CaO SiO2 Other T (°C) P (bar)
Haldor KM1 91-95 5-9 340-550 88-588
Topsoe KM1R* 89-93 7-11
35-4 93.9 0.7 3.0 2.4 350-530 100-600
35-8* 92.1 0.9 3.8 3.2
Katalco S6-10 93.9 0.7 3.0 2.4 BASF
(ICI) S6- 92.1 0.9 3.8 3.2 catalyst
10R*
74-1 95.8 0.6 2.1 1.5 ≥60
74-1R* 94.7 0.8 2.6 1.9
Sud AS-4 92 promoters
Chemie As-4R* 78%Fe promoters
10% FeO
*pre-reduced catalysts
# For unreduced catalysts, Fe is in the form of magnetite (Fe3O4). In pre-reduced
catalysts the Fe is present as metallic Fe and FeO.

3.5 Reactors

The basic design of an ammonia synthesis reactor is a pressure vessel with sections for
catalyst beds and heat exchangers. Ammonia converters are classified by flow type
(radial, axial, or cross flow) and cooling method (quench or indirect) used.

Axial flow reactors are essentially top-to-bottom flow reactors. The design is
comparatively simple, however, a fairly large pressure drop develops across the catalyst
bed. A radial flow configuration feeds gas into an annular region between the reactor
wall and the outer surface of the catalyst bed. Gas flows through the bed and exits out a
central collection tube. This design minimizes pressure drop across a shallow bed with
a large surface area. Radial flow converters tend to be tall vessels with relatively small
diameter. The cross-flow configuration has a similar principle in that gas is introduced
along one side of the reactor and is collected radially across the reactor by a collector on
the other side.

20
Removing the heat generated from the exothermic synthesis reaction to maintain control
of the reaction temperature is another design challenge. Quench converters are
designed to introduce cool reactant gas at various points along the length of the catalyst
bed. Interbed heat exchangers can also be used to remove heat at specific intervals
along the bed, effectively separating the bed into multiple synthesis zones, or
continuously along the bed with cooling tubes. These indirectly cooled designs allow for
efficient reaction heat recovery that can be used in other parts of the process. Reactant
gas can be circulated through the heat exchangers to preheat the ammonia synthesis
gas or water is used to produce steam.

A number of ammonia converters are commercially available. Seventeen different

designs for ammonia converters are described by Zardi (Zardi 1982). The article in
Ullmann’s also contains figures and descriptions of several different ammonia converters
(Appl 2003). Many designs are based on quench converters that have multiple catalyst
beds in series and cold gas is introduced between the beds for temperature control.
Early designs based on axial flow were easier to build but not as efficient as the more
complex radial flow converters that have more recently been designed. A small subset
of ammonia converters are depicted in Figure 4 and described below.

Figure 4: Various Ammonia Converter Designs

21
3.5.1 Topsoe radial-flow converter
One design uses 2 radial beds with quench gas injection between them. A similar radial
flow design uses an inter-bed heat exchanger in the first catalyst bed. Cold ammonia
synthesis gas is introduced from the bottom of the converter through the second catalyst
bed then through the heat exchanger in the first catalyst bed. The cold gas flow through
the second bed also provides indirect heat exchange. An additional heat exchanger is
located at the bottom of the reactor to cool the reacted gases.

3.5.2 Kellogg 4-bed axial flow quench converter

This reactor consists of 4 catalyst beds held on separate grids. Quench gas is
introduced in the spaces between the beds. A heat exchanger is located at the top of
the vessel.

3.5.3 Kellogg horizontal converter

This reactor is a cross-flow converter design where gas flows through the catalyst bed
perpendicular to the axis of the vessel. It is available in both quench and indirectly
cooled versions.

3.5.4 Tube Cooled Converter

There are many variations in this design. Figure 4 shows a generic reactor.

3.5.5 ICI Lozenge Quench Converter

This is an additional reactor which is not shown in Figure 4. An axial flow, continuous
catalyst bed is divided by lozenge distributors for quench gas addition.

3.6 Gas Cleanliness Requirements

In a carefully controlled ammonia synthesis processes, 10-year catalyst lifetimes are not
uncommon. Loss of activity, however, does still occur by common deactivation
mechanisms. Deactivation by sintering is a slow, gradual process that leads to loss of
active area by Fe crystallization and oxidation. The activity of ammonia synthesis
catalysts can also be reduced by trace impurities in the feed gas stream or solid
impurities introduced during catalyst manufacture. Careful manufacturing processes are
required to avoid the solid catalyst poisons, although, some are unavoidable because
they are present as impurities in the natural magnetite starting material. Extensive
purification of H2 and N2 is required to minimize gas phase catalyst poisons.

Gas phase impurities can be separated into temporary and irreversible catalyst poisons.
Oxygenated compounds like CO, CO2, H2O, and O2 are temporary, reversible ammonia
catalyst poisons at low process temperatures. Removal of these oxygenates from the
feed gas stream followed by re-reduction of the catalyst with pure H2 and N2 will restore
catalyst activity. A typical maximum specification allowed for all oxygen containing
compounds in the ammonia synthesis reactor feed is 10 ppm (total oxygen compounds).
As temperatures increase above 520°C water vapor can become an irreversible poison
as Fe crystallites form.

Sulfur and chlorine are the most efficient irreversible gaseous catalyst poisons. The
sulfur is removed from the process gas stream before the primary reformer by a

22
hydrodesulfurization unit containing Co-Mo catalysts followed by a fixed bed ZnO
absorber. Syngas from coal gasification can contain high levels of H2S and COS that
must be removed.

Chlorine attacks the alkali promoters to form volatile alkali chlorides that can vaporize at
process temperatures. Chlorine also attacks the active metallic Fe sites converting them
to Fe-chlorides. Trace levels of arsenic and phosphorous are also strong catalyst
poisons. Table 8 summarizes the various catalyst poisons.

Table 8: Summary of Ammonia Synthesis Catalyst Poisons

Poison Type Maximum
concentration (ppm)
H2O Rev 200
CO Rev 200
CO2 Rev 100
O2 Rev 100
Sulfur (H2S) Irrev 0.1
Chlorine irrev 0.1
As, P, Sb Irrev ---

3.7 Status/Technology Developers

In the early days the entire ammonia industry was based on coal as the feedstock.
Today coal or coke (including coke oven gas) is no longer of major economic
importance. In 1990, for example, only 13.5 % of the world ammonia capacity was
based on this raw material. Apart from a few plants operating in India and South Africa,
today, the majority of coal-based ammonia plants are found in China. As cheap
petroleum feedstocks became available the industry moved toward natural gas as the
main feedstock.

More than 20 commercial ammonia synthesis processes are described in the article on
“Ammonia” in Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (Appl 2003). Commercial
vendors include:
ICI – (http://www.synetix.com/ammonia/index.htm)
Linde (Ilg and Kandziora 1997) - (http://www.linde-process-
engineering.com/en/p0001/p0017/p0020/p0020.jsp),
Kellogg, Brown, and Root - (http://www.mwkl.co.uk/pdf/Ammonia_brochure_1.pdf and
http://www.mwkl.co.uk/pdf/KAAPplus.pdf)
Haldor Topsoe (http://www.topsoe.com/tempfiles/267.asp)
Ammonia Casale (http://www.casale.ch/ammonia/)
Krupp-Uhde - (http://www.uhde.biz/kompetenzen/technologien/duengemittel.en.html)

3.8 Environmental Performance

There are safety aspects in handling and storing liquid ammonia because it is toxic. The
release of CO2 has been an environmental concern related to ammonia production.
Often times the CO2 is captured and sold, otherwise it is vented to the atmosphere.

23
 3.9 Cost

The cost of ammonia is highly dependent on the feedstock price. In general, the price of
ammonia has fluctuated between $100-$250/tonne since 1986 (Appl 2003). It is
interesting to note that in 1969 the majority of the ammonia was produced in North
America and Europe (54% of total worldwide production) and now Asia produces the
largest fraction of ammonia (38% of the total in 1996). Table 9 gives the cost of
ammonia from a few sources for different feedstocks.

Table 9: Comparison of Ammonia Economics

Study Dietz et al 1978 Appl 2003 Eggeman
2001
Cost year 1981 1980 1980 1980 1996 1990

Feedstock Brava Natural Resid Coal Natural Vacuum Coal Natural

cane gas gas resid gas
Feedstock $9.77/dry na na na $2.8/GJ $2.0/GJ $1.8/GJ $1.9/GJ
cost ton
Ammonia 91-363 900 900 900 na na na 1,000
(tonne/day)
Price of $213-314 $215 $271 $314 $206 $248 $362 $161
ammonia
($/tonne)
Level of Some details Minimal details Minimal
detail details

24
3.10 References

Appl, M. (2003). "Ammonia." Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry Release

2003, 6th Edition, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co.KGaA.

Dietz, C.K., Lutz, I.H., Roman, A. (1978) Ammonia Production from Brava Cane. Energy
From Biomass and Wastes Symposium, August 14-18, Washington, D.C., 575-
604.

Eggeman, T. (2001). "Ammonia." Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology,

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Ilg, J., and Kandziora, B. (1997). "Linde ammonia concept." Ammonia Plant Safety &
Related Facilities, 37, 341-352.

Jennings, J. R., and Ward, S. A. (1989). "Ammonia Synthesis." Catalyst Handbook, M.

V. Twigg, ed., Wolfe Publishing, Ltd., London, England, 384-440.

Lauriente, D.H. (2001). "Ammonia." Chemical Economics Handbook Marketing

Research Report, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA. Report number 756.6000.

Satterfield, C. N. (1991). Heterogeneous Catalysis in Industrial Practice, Krieger

Publishing Company, Malabar, FL.

Zardi, U. (1982). "Review These Developments in Ammonia and Methanol Reactors."

Hydrocarbon Processing, 61(8), 129-133.

25
4 METHANOL AND METHANOL DERIVATIVE (INCLUDING
FORMALDEHYDE, ACETIC ACID, MTG, MTO, MOGD, TIGAS,
AND DME)
4.1 Introduction

Methanol synthesis actually began in the 1800’s with the isolation of “wood” alcohol from
the dry distillation (pyrolysis) of wood. Research and development efforts at the
beginning of the 20th century involving the conversion of syngas to liquid fuels and
chemicals led to the discovery of a methanol synthesis process concurrently with the
development of the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. In fact, methanol is a byproduct of
Fischer-Tropsch synthesis when alkali metal promoted catalysts are used. Methanol
synthesis is now a well-developed commercial catalytic process with high activity and
very high selectivity (>99%). Due to economic reasons, methanol is almost exclusively
produced via reforming of natural gas (90% of the worldwide methanol, (Davenport
2002). However, a variety of feedstocks other than natural gas can be used.

The long time interest in methanol is due to its potential fuel and chemical uses. In
particular, methanol can be used directly or blended with other petroleum products as a
clean burning transportation fuel. Methanol is also an important chemical intermediate
used to produce: formaldehyde, dimethyl ether (DME), methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE),
acetic acid, olefins, methyl amines, and methyl halides, to name a few.

4.2 Technology Description

Currently, the majority of methanol is synthesized from syngas that is produced via
steam reforming of natural gas. It can also be reformed using autothermal reforming
(ATR) or a combination of steam methane reforming (SMR) and ATR. Once the natural
gas is reformed the resulting synthesis gas is fed to a reactor vessel in the presence of a
catalyst to produce methanol and water vapor. This crude methanol, which usually
contains up to 18% water, plus ethanol, higher alcohols, ketones, and ethers is fed to a
distillation plant that consists of a unit that removes the volatiles and a unit that removes
the water and higher alcohols. The unreacted syngas is recirculated back to the
methanol converter resulting in an overall conversion efficiency of over 99%. A generic
methanol synthesis process flow diagram is shown in Figure 5.

Steam, O2

Natural
Desulphurization Steam Reforming
Gas

syngas (CO/CO2/H2)
Cooling
Compressor Methanol
and Methanol
Converter Distillation
Purge
Gas syngas recycle loop
26
 Figure 5: Simplified Methanol Synthesis Process Flow Diagram
As is the case with Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, one of the challenges associated with
commercial methanol synthesis is removing the large excess heat of reaction. Methanol
synthesis catalyst activity increases at higher temperatures but so does the chance for
competing side reactions (Supp and Quinkler 1984). Byproducts of methanol formation
are: CH4, DME, methyl formate, higher alcohols and acetone. Catalyst lifetimes are also
reduced by continuous high temperature operation and typically process temperatures
are maintained below 300°C to minimize catalyst sintering.

Overcoming the thermodynamic constraint is another challenge in commercial methanol

synthesis. The maximum per pass conversion efficiency of syngas to methanol is limited
to about 25% (Wender 1996). Higher conversion efficiencies per pass can be realized at
lower temperatures where the methanol equilibrium is shifted towards products;
however, catalyst activities generally decrease as the temperature is lowered.
Removing the methanol as it is produced is another strategy used for overcoming the
thermodynamic limitations and improving the per pas conversion process efficiencies.
Methanol is either physically removed (condensed out or physisorbed onto a solid) or
converted to another product like dimethyl ether, methyl formate, or acetic acid.

Controlling and dissipating the heat of reaction and overcoming the equilibrium
constraint to maximize the per pass conversion efficiency are the two main process
features that are considered when designing a methanol synthesis reactor, commonly
referred to as a methanol converter. Numerous methanol converter designs have been
commercialized over the years and these can be roughly separated into two categories -
adiabatic or isothermal reactors. Adiabatic reactors often contain multiple catalyst beds
separated by gas cooling devices, either direct heat exchange or injection of cooled,
fresh or recycled, syngas. Axial temperature profiles often have a sawtooth pattern that
is low at the point of heat removal and increases linearly between the heat exchange
sections. The isothermal reactors are designed to continuously remove the heat of
reaction so they operate essentially like a heat exchanger with an isothermal axial
temperature profile. The following section describes some of the many methanol
converter designs found in the literature.

4.3 Reactors

One of the more widely used commercial isothermal methanol converters is the Lurgi
Methanol Converter (Haid and Koss 2001; Supp and Quinkler 1984). It is a shell and
tube design similar to their Fischer Tropsch (FT) reactor. The tubes contain a
proprietary Lurgi methanol catalyst (Cu/ZnO/Cr2O3 + promoters) and are surrounded by
boiling water for reaction heat removal. These units operate at 50-100 bar and 230-
265°C. Varying the pressure of the boiling water controls the reactor temperature.
Byproduct steam is produced at 40-50 bar and can be used to run the compressor or to
provide heat for the distillation process.

The ICI Low pressure Quench Converter (Pinto and Rogerson 1977; Rogerson 1971;
Rogerson 1984) is the most widely used adiabatic methanol converter. It is operated at
50-100 bar and 270°C. The Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst is contained in a single bed
supported by an inert material. Adding cold fresh and recycled syngas quenches the
synthesis reaction and controls the reaction temperature. The gas is injected at

27
appropriate depths within the reactor through spargers called lozenges. There are
horizontal layers of these lozenges that run across the converter from side to side and
each has an outer surface covered with wire mesh and a central pipe that delivers the
cold gas. ICI has an improved version of this reactor known as an ARC converter. The
main technical difference is that instead of a single continuous catalyst bed, the bed is
separated by distribution plates to form multiple consecutive catalyst domains.

Kellogg, Brown, and Root (now Halliburton) has developed an adiabatic methanol
converter that has multiple fixed bed reactors arranged in series and separated by heat
exchangers. All of the recycled syngas is fed directly into the first reactor stage. The
reactors have a spherical geometry to reduce construction costs and they also use less
catalyst compared to the ICI Quench Converter. The Haldor-Topsoe Collect, Mix,
Distribute (CMD) converter operates on a similar principle. Vertical support beams
separate catalyst beds. The gas inlet at the bottom of the reactor provides fresh syngas
that flows radially up through the first catalyst bed. At the top of the reactor, this first
pass through gas is mixed with quench gas and distributed evenly so that it flows radially
down through the second catalyst bed (Dybkjaer 1981). The cited benefit of this design
is an increase in per pass conversion. Toyo Engineering Corporation has designed
another version of a multistage radial flow methanol converter (MRF-Z™) that uses
bayonet boiler tubes for intermediate cooling. The tubes divide the catalyst into
concentric beds.

The Tube Cooled Converter is a reactor design that is simple to operate. The syngas
enters at the bottom of the reactor where a manifold distributes the gas through tubes
that act as a heat exchanger prior to the gas entering the catalyst bed. The Linde
isothermal reactor, known as the Variobar converter, has the unique design feature of
using coiled helical tubes embedded in the catalyst bed for heat removal. Spacers
separate the multi-layer coils and boiling water is circulated through the tubes.
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical in collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industry has developed
an isothermal reactor known as the MGC/MHI Superconverter (Takase and Niwa 1985).
This reactor design uses double-walled tubes that are filled with catalyst in the annular
space between the inner and outer tubes. The feed syngas enters the inner tubes and is
heated as it progresses through the tube. The gas then passes downward through the
catalyst bed in the annular space. Heat is removed on both sides of the catalyst bed by
the boiling water surrounding the tubes as well as by the feed gas introduced into the
inner tube (Tijm et al. 2001). A high conversion rate (ca. 14 % methanol in the reactor
outlet) is cited for this reactor (Fiedler et al. 2003).

Additional methanol converter designs include technologies using three phase systems
similar in principle to the slurry reactors used for Fischer Tropsch synthesis (FTS).
These technologies are collectively known as Liquid Phase Methanol Synthesis.
ChemSystems, Inc. and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. with Department of Energy
funding developed a liquid-entrained catalytic reactor for converting low H2/(CO + CO2)
ratio syngas into methanol known as LPMEOH™ (Bhatt et al. 1999; DOE 1992). The
ability to convert low stoichiometric ratio (CO rich) syngas lends to using syngas from
coal or biomass gasification for methanol production. The three phase slurry reactor
provides better temperature control by uniformly dissipating the heat of reaction into the
high heat capacity liquid. The LPMEOH™ process uses a supported Cu/ZnO catalyst
(20-45 wt%) dispersed in circulating mineral oil with reactor temperatures of 225-265°C
and a pressure of 50 bar. Brookhaven National Laboratory has also developed a liquid
phase methanol synthesis process that can be operated at lower pressures (< 5 atm)

28
with up to 90% conversion without syngas recycling (Tijm et al. 2001). This work has
been done in collaboration with Amoco and in 1998 a 50 ml mini-pilot plant was
successfully operated.

Two other methanol conversion processes are based on systems where the product
methanol is continuously removed from the gas phase by selective adsorption on a solid
or in a liquid. The Gas-Solid-Solid Trickle Flow Reactor (GSSTFR) utilizes an adsorbent
such as SiO2/Al2O3 to trap the product methanol (Herman 1991; Pass et al. 1990). The
solid adsorbent is collected in holding tanks and the methanol is desorbed. In the
Reactor System with Interstage Product Removal (RSIPR), a liquid solvent is used to
adsorb the product methanol (Herman 1991).

4.4 Chemistry

Catalytic methanol synthesis from syngas is a classic high-temperature, high-pressure

exothermic equilibrium limited synthesis reaction. The chemistry of methanol synthesis
is as follows (Rostrup-Nielsen 2000):

CO + 2H2 € CH3OH ΔHr = -90.64 kJ/mol

CO2 + 3H2 € CH3OH + H2O ΔHr = -49.67 kJ/mol
CO + H2O € CO2 + H2 ΔHr = -41.47 kJ/mol

For methanol synthesis, a stoichometric ratio, defined as (H2 – CO2)/(CO + CO2), of

about 2 is preferred. This means that there will be just the stoichiometric amount of
hydrogen needed for methanol synthesis. For kinetic reasons and in order to control by-
products, a value slightly above 2 is normally preferred (Dybkjaer and Christensen
2001).

Although methanol is made from mixtures of H2 and CO, the reaction is about 100 times
slower than when CO2 is present (Wender 1996). Until as recently as the 1990’s the role
of CO2 in methanol synthesis was not clear. The water gas shift (WGS) activity of Cu
catalysts is so high that it was difficult to deconvolute the role of CO and CO2 in
methanol synthesis. Isotopic labeling studies have unequivocally proved that CO2 is the
source of C in methanol (Ladebeck 1993; Wender 1996). CO is involved in the reverse
WGS reaction to make H2 and CO2. CO2 is also thought to keep the catalyst in an
intermediate oxidation state Cu0/Cu+ preventing ZnO reduction followed by brass
formation (Ladebeck 1993). The proposed mechanism for catalytic methanol synthesis
is believed to proceed through a long-lived formate intermediate. CO2 is adsorbed on a
partially oxidized metal surface as a carbonate and hydrogenated. This intermediate is
then hydrogenated in the rate limiting step. The copper catalyst sites have high activity
for splitting the first C-O bond in CO2 that helps maintain the oxidation state of the active
copper sites. At high concentrations, however, CO2 actually reduces catalyst activity by
inhibiting methanol synthesis. The feed gas composition for methanol synthesis is
typically adjusted to contain 4-8% CO2 for maximum activity and selectivity. Even
though Cu has WGS activity, excessive amounts of H2O also leads to active site
blocking that is poor for activity but improves selectivity by reducing byproduct formation
by 50% (Chinchen et al. 1990).

29
4.5 Catalysts

The first high temperature, high-pressure methanol synthesis catalysts were ZnO/Cr2O3
and were operated at 350°C and 250-350 bar. Catalyst compositions contained 20-75
atom% Zn. These catalysts demonstrated high activity and selectivity for methanol
synthesis and proved robust enough to resist sulfur poisoning inherent when generating
syngas from coal gasification. Over the years, as gas purification technologies improved
(i.e., removal of impurities such as sulfur, chlorine, and metals) interest in the easily
poisoned Cu catalysts for methanol synthesis was renewed. In 1966, ICI introduced a
new, more active Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst that began a new generation of methanol
production by a low temperature (220-275°C), low pressure process (50-100 bar). The
last high temperature methanol synthesis plant closed in the mid-1980’s (Fiedler et al.
2003) and presently low temperature low pressure processes based on Cu catalysts are
used for all commercial production of methanol from syngas. The synthesis process has
been optimized to point that modern methanol plants yield 1 kg of MeOH /liter of
catalyst/hr with >99.5% selectivity for methanol. Commercial methanol synthesis
catalysts have lifetimes on the order of 3-5 years under normal operating conditions.

The Cu crystallites in methanol synthesis catalysts have been identified as the active
catalytic sites although the actual state (oxide, metallic, etc.) of the active Cu site is still
being debated. The most active catalysts all have high Cu content, optimum ~60% Cu
that is limited by the need to have enough refractory oxide to prevent sintering of the Cu
crystallites. The ZnO in the catalyst formulation creates a high Cu metal surface area; it
is suitably refractory at methanol synthesis temperatures and hinders the agglomeration
of Cu particles. ZnO also interacts with Al2O3 to form a spinel that provides a robust
catalyst support. Acidic materials like alumina are known to catalyze methanol
dehydration reactions to produce DME. By interacting with the Al2O3 support material,
the ZnO effectively improves methanol selectivity by reducing the potential for DME
formation.

Catalysts are typically prepared by the co-precipitation of metal salts such as nitrates or
sulfates with a variety of precipitating agents. It is important to avoid contaminating
methanol catalysts with metals that have FT activity (Fe or Ni) during synthesis.
Incorporation of alkali metals in catalyst formulations should also be avoided because
they catalyze the increased production of higher alcohols. Table 10 shows catalyst
formulations for the many commercial manufacturers.

Table 10: Commercial Methanol Synthesis Catalyst Formulations

Manufacturer Cu at% Zn at% Al at% Other Patent date
IFP 45-70 15-35 4-20 Zr – 2-18 1987
ICI 20-35 15-50 4-20 Mg 1965
BASF 38.5 48.8 12.9 1978
Shell 71 24 Rare Earth 1973
oxide –5
Sud Chemie 65 22 12 1987
Dupont 50 19 31 none found
United 62 21 17 none found
Catalysts
Haldor Topsoe > 55 21-25 8-10 none found
MK-121

30
Additional catalyst formulations have been presented in the literature with the purpose of
improving per pass methanol yields (Klier 1982). The addition of Cs to Cu/ZnO mixtures
has shown improved methanol synthesis yields. This only holds true for the heavier
alkali metals as the addition of K to methanol synthesis catalysts tends to enhance
higher alcohol yields. Cu/ThO2 intermetallic catalysts have also been investigated for
methanol synthesis (Klier 1982). These catalysts have demonstrated high activitity for
forming methanol from CO2-free syngas. Thoria based methanol catalysts deactivate
very rapidly in the presence of CO2. Cu/Zr catalysts have proven active for methanol
synthesis in CO-free syngas at 5 atm and 160-300°C (Herman 1991). Supported Pd
catalysts have also demonstrated methanol synthesis activity in CO2-free syngas a 5 -
110 atm at 260-350°C.

4.6 Gas Cleanliness Requirements

Through the years, methanol catalysts have been optimized for maximum selectivity,
space time yields, and long service life, but they still deactivate (Wender 1996). Under
normal commercial operating conditions, CuO/ZnO methanol catalysts have quite long
lifetimes, up to 2-5 years. Increasing the process operating temperature to maintain
activity and yield, compensates for progressive catalyst deactivation.

Copper has a very low activity for breaking C-O bonds or forming C-C bonds. As a
result in methanol synthesis, wax formation is not usually a major problem nor is
formation of coke from hydrocarbons (Twigg and Spencer 2001). Cu catalysts also do
not have a strong tendency to catalyze FT reactions, or processes involving carbonium
ion chemistry. Therefore, the major causes of methanol catalyst deactivation are
poisoning and Cu sintering that results in loss of Cu surface area.

Copper catalysts are extremely sensitive to site-blocking poisons such as reduced sulfur.
To retain the long-term activity of Cu catalysts, it has been found empirically that the
gas-phase sulfur concentration needs to be kept below 1 ppm and preferably below 0.1
ppm. High partial pressures of water vapor also inhibit the reaction, presumably by
competitive adsorption on active sites.

Interestingly enough, the catalysts formulation itself tends to reduce the effects of sulfur
poisoning. The ZnO in the catalyst is very effective in limiting poisoning of copper
catalysts because it acts as a poison sink, diverting the poisons away from the active Cu
sites and scavenging the sulfur out of the gas stream by forming ZnS and ZnSO4.
Commercial Cu-ZnO catalysts can absorb 0.4 wt% sulfur and still maintain 70% of their
activity (Kung 1992). This helps to extend the catalyst lifetime.

As it turns out, COS is not a gas phase methanol catalyst poison. Studies have shown
that COS does not cause any deactivation over a concentration range of 0.6-9 ppm.
The Cu/ZnO catalysts have no activity for COS adsorption or dissociation and at
methanol synthesis conditions COS does not react with H2 to form H2S (Kung 1992).
However, COS is a much more effective poison in the liquid phase methanol synthesis
process than in the gas phase.

31
If reactor temperatures are not properly controlled, the highly exothermic methanol
synthesis reactions can rapidly cause catalyst deactivation by sintering of the Cu
crystallites. Reactor temperatures are maintained below 300°C to minimize sintering.

The presence of Cl in syngas has also been correlated with a greatly enhanced rate of
sintering of copper crystallites most likely due to the formation of volatile copper chloride
compounds. The mechanism of Cl poisoning can be explained by adsorbed Cl atoms
that block or modify active catalyst sites. The Cl interacts with the Cu by forming CuCl2
that has a low melting point and high surface mobility that accelerates catalysts
sintering. The presence of trace amounts of chlorine also causes enhanced sulfur
poisoning probably because Zn chlorides also form removing these sites as possible
sinks for sulfur capture. The limits on HCl content to avoid catalyst poisoning are more
severe than for H2S poisoning, on the order of 1 ppb (Twigg and Spencer 2001).

Other gas phase poisons in syngas that need to be avoided are metal carbonyls,
particularly Ni and Fe carbonyls. Trace amounts of metal carbonyl compounds could be
present in feed streams, especially in laboratory experiments where stainless steel
tubing is used. Volatile metal carbonyl compounds deposit on the catalyst surface and
block active sites. The deposition of Fe and Ni carbonyls affects the selectivity of the
methanol catalysts. Ni increases the production of CH4 and Fe increases the production
of FT products. Metal carbonyl concentrations should be below 5 ppb (Wender 1996).

The purity of catalyst formulations is also critical to insure optimum activity and
selectivity of methanol synthesis catalysts. It is very important to eliminate Ni and Fe
impurities in catalyst precursors during catalyst formulation. These impurities in
methanol synthesis catalysts reduce the selectivity and increase the yield of CH4 and FT
hydrocarbon products. Alkali metals should also be avoided because these reduce
overall catalyst activity and increase the production of higher alcohols. Unwanted SiO2
in the catalyst promotes wax formation and unreacted (non-spinel) alumina enhances
DME formation. Other poisons to be avoided are As and P.

Maintaining the low levels of sulfur in the syngas used to produce methanol is typically
not a problem. Most syngas used for methanol synthesis is produced from steam
reforming of methane over Ni catalysts that are very intolerant of sulfur. Therefore,
sulfur compounds in the feedstock will normally be reduced to below 0.1 ppm by
desulfurization prior to the primary reformer in hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol plants.
Poisoning by chlorine or other compounds is also negligible in normal plant operation,
because these are removed by the earlier stages of generation of synthesis gas. A
summary of the gas cleanliness requirements for gas phase and liquid phase methanol
production are in Table 11.

32
Table 11: MeOH Gaseous Contaminant Constraints
ppmv Reference LPMeOH (Novem 2000) ppmv
Sulfur <0.5 (<0.1 Kung, 1992 Sulfur (including OCS) 0.1
(not COS) preferred)
Halides 0.001 Twigg and Total halides 0.01
Spencer 2001
Fe and Ni 0.005 Kung, 1992 Acetylene 5
Total unsaturates 300
NH3 10
HCN 0.01
Fe and Ni 0.01

4.7 Status/Technology Developers

The first commercial methanol synthesis route was introduced by BASF of Germany in
1923 at pressures of 250-350 atm (3,675-5,145 psi). Plants operated at high pressures
until low pressure routes were developed and by the early 1980s the majority of the
producers had switched from the high pressure process to a low pressure one. This was
done because the low-pressure process is more efficient, has a lower capital cost, and is
cheaper to operate. ICI and Lurgi offer the two most widely used low pressure
processes (Davenport 2002). Low pressure technologies are also offered by Mitsubishi
Gas Chemical Company, Inc. of Japan, jointly by Haldor-Topsoe of Denmark and Nihon
Suiso Kogyo of Japan, and by Halliburton. The following table gives the process
conditions for each supplier:

Table 12: Methanol Technology Suppliers

Technology T (C) P (atm) Notes
supplier
ICI (Synetix) 210-290 50-100 Currently licenses 4 types of reactors: ARC,
Tubular Cooled, Isothermal Linde, and Toyo (see
reactor section for details)
Lurgi 230-265 50-100 Tubular, isothermal reactor
Mitsubishi 240 77-97 Tubular, isothermal reactor
Haldor-Topsoe & 260 48-300 To date, no commercial plants based on this
Nihon process.
Halliburton not found not found Spherical reactor geometry
(Kellogg, Brown
& Root)
References: (Davenport 2002; Dybkjaer and Christensen 2001; Fiedler et al. 2003; Lee 1990;
Takase and Niwa 1985; Tijm et al. 2001)

The world’s largest producer of methanol is Methanex and they account for 17% of the
total global capacity (Davenport 2002). The next largest producer is SABIC which
accounts for 6.5% of the total global capacity (Davenport 2002). Overall, as of January
1, 2002 worldwide annual capacity of methanol was 12.8 billion gallons (38 million
tonnes, 9 million GJ) (Davenport 2002). In 2001, the U.S. consumed 28% of the total
world methanol while North America produced 20% of the world supply (Davenport
2002). There are 18 methanol production plants in the U.S. (Lidderdale 2001).

33
Recently, Lurgi won a contract to build a methanol plant for National Petrochemical's
subsidiary Zagros Petrochemical in Bandar Assaluye, Iran. The capacity will be 1.8
million tonnes/yr making it the largest methanol unit in the world and is expected to begin
operation in 2004 [http://www.qipc.net/news/june/jun0051.htm].

Liquid phase methanol synthesis (LPMeOH) was invented in late 1970’s (Hamelinck and
Faaij 2001) and developed in the 1980’s (Bhatt et al. 1999). In the 80’s, Air Products
and Chemicals, Inc. tested this technology at a pilot-scale facility with an output of 8 tpd
of methanol in LaPorte, TX. Later, a 260 TDP LPMeOH demonstration plant was built in
Kingsport, TN and began operation in 1997 (Bhatt et al. 1999). It was a joint venture
between Eastman Chemical Company and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (Wender
1996).

4.8 Process Performance

Converting syngas to methanol in commercial units is limited by thermodynamic

considerations to about 25% per pass (Wender 1996). Lurgi’s multitubular reactor
produces close to 1 kg of methanol per liter of catalyst per hour. The actual per pass
conversion of methanol is only 4-7vol% (Wender 1996). Removal of methanol would
increase per pass conversions. Another way to increase the conversion is in situ
dehydration of methanol to DME. Generally, 100 tons of methanol is converted to nearly
44 tons of hydrocarbons and 56 tons of water (Maiden 1983; Wender 1996).

4.9 Uses

Globally, formaldehyde production is the largest consumer of methanol (35% of

worldwide methanol) (Davenport 2002). This is followed by MTBE at 25% and the third
largest consumer is acetic acid at 9% (Davenport 2002). The following sections discuss
the uses of methanol.

4.9.1 Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde was first commercially produced in 1890 in Germany by the catalytic

partial oxidation of methanol with air over an unsupported Cu catalyst at atmospheric
pressure (Satterfield 1991). By the beginning of the 20th century Cu was replaced by Ag
as the catalyst of choice because yields were better. Iron molybdate catalysts also
began to be used in the 1940’s (Satterfield 1991).

Formaldehyde produced over Ag catalysts proceeds via methanol dehydrogenation and

partial oxidation according to the following reactions: (Chen and Masel 1995; Ruf and
Emig 1999):

CH3OH € H2CO + H2 (dehydrogenation) ΔHr = +84 kJ/mol

CH3OH + ½ O2 € H2CO + H2O (partial oxidation) ΔHr = -159 kJ/mol

For the Ag catalyst process, a 50% methanol mixture in air is passed through a thin,
fixed bed at 600°C and slightly above atmospheric pressure. Metallic Ag is not active for

34
methanol decomposition. The active Ag site requires chemisorbed oxygen, which
provides a site for methanol adsorption.

For the iron molybdate [Fe2(MoO4)3] process, a lean methanol-air mixture is used. This
reaction is more exothermic than the Ag process so heat removal is required (Satterfield
1991). The catalyst temperature is about 340-380°C. Excessive reactor temperatures
cause volatilization of molybdenum oxide, which reduces the selectivity of the process.
A high oxygen partial pressure is required to maintain catalyst activity and in the
presence of excess methanol catalyst activity is lost.

Formaldehyde is produced commercially from methanol by the following three industrial

processes (Reuss et al. 2003):

(1) Partial oxidation and dehydrogenation with air in the presence of silver crystals,
steam, and excess methanol at a temperature of 680-720 °C. Otherwise known as
the BASF process. The methanol conversion for this process is 97-98%.
(2) The same as process (1) except in the presence of crystalline silver or silver gauze
at a temperature of 600-650 °C then the product is distilled and the unreacted
methanol is recycled. The primary methanol conversion for this process is 77-87%.
(3) Oxidation with only excess air in the presence of a modified
iron/molybdenum/vanadium oxide catalyst at a temperature of 250-400 °C. Also
know as the Formox process. The methanol conversion for this process is 98-99%.

Formaldehyde is used to make resins with phenol, urea, or melamine for the
manufacture of various construction board products. The demand for formaldehyde is
driven by the construction industry.

4.9.2 MTBE (Methyl tertiary-Butyl Ether)

In general, greater than 95% of the MTBE that is produced is used in the gasoline pool.
MTBE is also used in the petrochemical industry for the production of isobutene.
Additionally, it can be used in a number of chemical reactions including the production of
methacrolein, methycrylic acid, or isoprene. One other use is solvent dewaxing of
hydrocarbon oils (Peters et al. 2003).

MTBE is produced by reacting isobutene with methanol in the presence of an acidic

catalyst according to the following slightly exothermic reaction:

i-C4H8 + CH3OH € (CH3)3COCH3 ΔHr = -37 kJ/mol

The reaction temperature and pressure are 30-100°C and 7-14 atm (100-200 psig),
respectively (Schädlich et al. 2003) so that the reaction occurs in the liquid phase.
Catalysts used are solid acids, zeolites (H-ZSM-5), and macroporous sulfonic acid ion-
exchange resins such as Amberlyst-15 (Collignon et al. 1999). A molar excess of
methanol is used to increase isobutene conversion and inhibit the dimerization and
oligamerization of isobutene. MTBE yields approaching 90% can be achieved at
optimum reaction conditions.

In general, most commercially available processes are similar consisting of a reaction

and a refining section. In addition to the Snamprogetti and Hüls (now Oxeno)
processes, processes have been developed by Arco, IFP, CDTECH (ABB Lummus

35
Crest and Chemical Research Licensing), DEA (formerly Deutsche Texaco), Shell
(Netherlands), Phillips Petroleum, and Sumitomo (Peters et al. 2003). Currently, there
are over 140 MTBE plants with a total installed capacity of ca. 20 million tonnes/yr.

The largest demand for MTBE has been primarily in the U.S. with North America
consuming roughly 65% of the worldwide production of MTBE. In the U.S. consumption
increased substantially with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 but recently MTBE
has come under environmental attack because of leaky tanks and groundwater
contamination. California planned to ban MTBE from gasoline by January 1, 2003 but
the ban has been pushed back a year. Recently, Alberta Envirofuels closed its 800,000
tonne/yr MTBE plant located in Edmonton, Canada (2002). They plan to convert the
plant into an iso-octane facility (a gasoline additive that is an alternative to MTBE) at a
cost of $50 million. With the reduction and possibly elimination of MTBE in gasoline, a
worldwide decline in the demand for MTBE of about 3-5% is predicted (Davenport 2002).

4.9.3 Acetic Acid

The third most abundant chemical synthesized from methanol is acetic acid (CH3OH +
CO € CH3COOH). Vinyl acetate, acetic anhydride and terephthalic acid are all
manufactured from acetic acid. Latex emulsion resins for paints, adhesives, paper
coatings, and textile finishing agents are made from vinyl acetate. Acetic anhydride is
used in making cellulose acetate fibers and cellulosic plastics. In terms of world
production of acetic acid, approximately one-half comes from methanol carbonylation
and about one-third from acetaldehyde oxidation (Wagner 2002). (Cheung et al. 2003)
states that there is little doubt that the technology of the future is methanol carbonylation.
In 1999, the worldwide demand for acetic acid was 2.8 million tonnes (6.17 × 109 lb)
(Wagner 2002).

Acetic acid is produced by the carbonylation of methanol with CO in the liquid phase
using Co, Rh, or Ni catalysts promoted by iodine. The synthesis of acetic acid by
carbonylation of methanol is one of the most important industrial applications of
homogeneous catalysis (Roper 1991). Two processes have been developed based on
this homogeneous catalytic synthesis. One is the BASF process, which is the older of
the two and uses a Co/iodine catalyst at process conditions of 250°C and 500-700 atm
(3,000-10,000 psig) with 90% selectivity to acetic acid (from methanol). The second is
the Monsanto process, which uses a Rh/iodine catalyst at process conditions of 180°C
and 30-40 atm with over 99% selectivity. This liquid phase process is initiated by the
reaction of methanol with HI to yield methyl iodide. The active catalyst in the process is
the metal carbonyl [RhI2(CO)2]- into which methyl iodide is inserted in the rate limiting
step. Acetic acid is formed by the hydrolysis of the eliminated acetyl iodide species
CH3COI that also regenerates HI (King and Grate 1985).

The second, less severe Monsanto process has displaced the BASF process and all
new installed capacity since 1973 is based on the Monsanto process (SRI 1994). The
catalytic system is very corrosive and requires expensive steels for materials of
construction. Complete recovery of the expensive Rh catalyst (~10-3 M) and recycle of
HI (~0.1 M) is paramount to maintain favorable process economics. The high cost of Rh
has lead to the search for other, lower cost, metals that could be used as acetic acid
catalysts with similar performance.

36
4.9.4 Methanol to Gasoline (MTG)

The methanol to gasoline (MTG) process developed by Mobil Oil Corporation involves
the conversion of methanol to hydrocarbons over zeolite catalysts. The MTG process,
although considered the first major new synthetic fuel development since FTS, was
discovered by accident in the 1970’s by two independent groups of Mobil scientists
trying to convert methanol to ethylene oxide and attempting to methylate isobutene with
methanol over a ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst (Keil 1999).

The MTG process occurs in two steps. First, crude methanol (17% water) is super-
heated to 300°C and partially dehydrated over an alumina catalyst at 27 atm to yield an
equilibrium mixture of methanol, dimethyl ether, and water (75% of the methanol is
converted). This effluent is then mixed with heated recycled syngas and introduced into
a reactor containing ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst at 350-366°C and 19-23 atm to produce
hydrocarbons (44%) and water (56%) (Hancock 1985). The overall MTG process
usually contains multiple gasoline conversion reactors in parallel because the zeolites
have to be regenerated frequently to burn off the coke formed during the reaction. The
reactors are then cycled so that individual reactors can be regenerated without stopping
the process, usually every 2-6 weeks (Kam et al. 1984).

The MTG reactions may be summarized as follows (Wender 1996):

2CH3OH € CH3OCH3 + H2O

CH3OCH3 € C2-C5 olefins
C2-C5 olefins € paraffins, cycloparaffins, aromatics

The selectivity to gasoline range hydrocarbons is greater than 85% with the remainder of
the product being primarily LPG (Wender 1996). Nearly 40% of the gasoline produced
from the MTG process is aromatic hydrocarbons with the following distribution: 4%
benzene, 26% toluene, 2% ethylbenzene, 43% xylenes, 14% trimethyl substituted
benzenes, plus 12% other aromatics (Wender 1996). The shape selectivity of the zeolite
catalyst results in a relatively high durene (1,2,4,5-tetramethylbenzene) concentration, 3-
5% of the gasoline produced (MacDougall 1991). Therefore, MTG gasoline is usually
distilled and the heavy fraction is processed in the Heavy Gasoline Treating unit to
reduce the durene concentration to below 2%. This results in a high quality gasoline
with a high octane number. The MTG process may no longer be a good option for
gasoline production because the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments limits the amount of
aromatics in reformulated gasoline in order to reduce air toxics. In California, the
amount of total aromatics is limited to 25 vol% (Owen and Coley 1995).

The first commercial MTG plant came onstream in 1985 in New Zealand (Mobil’s
Motunui plant) producing both methanol and high octane gasoline from natural gas .
The plant produced 14,500 BPD of gasoline then in 1997, the gasoline manufacturing
was abandoned and the plant produced only methanol. No information could be found
regarding the reason for abandoning the manufacture of gasoline, but it is most likely
due to economic factors such as the cost of oil and the market price of methanol.
Today, this plant along with a nearby methanol plant at Waitara produces 2.43 million
tonnes per year of chemical grade methanol for export
[http://www.techhistory.co.nz/pages/Petrochemical%20Decisions.htm].

37
A fluid bed MTG plant was jointly designed and operated near Cologne, Germany by
Mobil Research and Development Corp., Union Rheinische Braunkohlen Kraftstoff AG
and Uhde Gmb (Keil 1999). A demonstration plant (15.9 m3/day) operated from 1982 to
1985. Although, no commercial plants have been built, the fluid bed technology is ready
for commercialization.

4.9.5 Methanol to Olefins (MTO) and Methanol to Gasoline and Diesel

(MOGD)

Along with the MTG process, Mobil developed several other processes for converting
methanol to hydrocarbons based on zeolite catalysts. Since light olefins are
intermediates in the MTG process, it is possible to optimize the methanol to olefins
(MTO) synthesis. Higher reaction temperatures (~500°C), lower pressures, and lower
catalyst (acidity) activity favors light olefin production (Keil 1999). The rate of olefin
production could be modified so that 80% of the product consists of C2 to C5 olefins rich
in propylene (32%) and butenes (20%) with an aromatic rich C5+ gasoline fraction (36%)
(MacDougall 1991; Wender 1996). The process can also be modified for high ethylene
and propylene yield (>60%).

Mobil also developed a methanol to gasoline and diesel (MOGD) process.

Oligimerization, disproportionation and aromatization of the olefins produced in the MTO
synthesis are the basis for the MOGD process. In the MOGD process, the selectivity of
gasoline and distillate from olefins is greater than 95% (Keil 1999). One source gives
the gasoline product from MOGD to be: 3 wt% paraffins, 94 wt% olefins, 1 wt%
napthenes, and 2 wt% aromatics (Tabak and Yurchak 1990). A large-scale test run was
performed at a Mobil refinery in 1981.

Neither the MTO nor the MOGD process is currently in commercial practice (Wender
1996). However, UOP and HYDRO of Norway, does license their own methanol to
olefins process where the primary products are ethylene and propylene
[http://www.uop.com/petrochemicals/processes_products/mto_intro.htm and (Keil
1999)]. They use a fluidized bed reactor at 400 – 450°C and achieve roughly 80%
carbon selectivity to olefins at nearly complete methanol conversion (Apanel and Netzer
2002). The operating parameters can be adjusted so that either more ethylene is
produced (48 wt% ethylene, 31 wt% propylene, 9 wt% butenes and 1.5 wt% other
olefins) or else more propylene (45 wt% propylene, 34 wt% ethylene, 12 wt% butenes
and 0.75 wt% other olefins).

4.9.6 TIGAS (Topsoe Integrated Gasoline Synthesis)

The Topsoe Integrated Gasoline Synthesis (TIGAS) process was developed by Haldor
Topsoe with the intent of minimizing capital and energy costs by integrating methanol
synthesis with the MTG step into a single loop without isolation of methanol as an
intermediate (Keil 1999; Topp-Jorgensen 1987; Topp-Jorgensen 1988). This process
was developed with the idea that future plants would be constructed in remote areas for
recovery of low cost natural gas. In Mobil’s MTG process different pressures are
preferred for syngas production, methanol synthesis, and the fixed bed MTG step.
These pressures are 15-20 atm (221-294 psi), 50-100 atm (735-1470 psi), and 15-25
atm (221-368 psi), respectively (Wender 1996). The TIGAS process involves modified
catalysts and conditions so that the system pressure levels out and separate

38
compression steps are not required. In order to do this a mixture of methanol and DME
is made prior to gasoline synthesis then there is only one recycle loop which goes from
the gasoline synthesis step back to the MeOH/DME synthesis step. A 1 MTPD
demonstration plant was built in Houston, Texas in 1984 and operated for 3 years (Topp-
Jorgensen 1988). The gasoline yield for the TIGAS process, defined as the amount of
gasoline produced divided by the amount of natural gas feed and fuel, was shown to be
56.5 wt% (Topp-Jorgensen 1988). The TIGAS process, however, yields a lower quality
gasoline compared to MTG with a lower octane number because of a reduced selectivity
to gasoline range aromatics (MacDougall 1991).

4.9.7 DME (Dimethyl Ether)

DME is industrially important as the starting material in the production of the methylating
agent dimethyl sulfate and is also used as an aerosol propellant. DME has the potential
to be used as a diesel or cooking fuel, a refrigerant, or a chemical feedstock (Gunda et
al. 1995; Peng et al. 1999b; Shikada et al. 1999). Commercial production of DME
originated as a byproduct of high-pressure methanol production.

DME is formed in a two-step process where first methanol is synthesized then it is

dehydrated over an acid catalyst such as γ-alumina at methanol synthesis conditions.
The DME reaction scheme is as follows (Hansen and Joensen 1991; Peng et al. 1999a):

CO + 2H2 € CH3OH (methanol synthesis) ΔH = -21.6kcal/mole

2CH3OH € CH3OCH3 + H2O (methanol dehydration) ΔH = -5.6 kcal/mole
H2O + CO € H2 + CO2 (water gas shift) ΔH = -9.8 kcal/mole
NET reaction: 3H2 + 3CO € CH3OCH3 +CO2 ΔH = -58.6 kcal/mole

Note that one product in each reaction is consumed by another reaction. Because of the
synergy between these reactions, syngas conversion to DME gives higher conversions
than syngas conversion to methanol. (Shikada et al. 1999) gives the per pass and total
conversion for the synthesis of methanol, methanol/DME and DME to be:

Table 13: Conversions for Methanol, Methanol/DME, and DME

Conversion MeOH MeOH/DME DME
Per pass (%) 14 18 50
Total (%) 77 85 95

The optimum H2:CO ratio for DME synthesis is lower than that for methanol synthesis
and ideally should be around one (Peng et al. 1999a; Peng et al. 1999b; Shikada et al.
1999). Recent improvements to the DME synthesis process involve the development of
bifunctional catalysts to produce DME in a single gas phase step (i.e., one reactor) (Ge
et al. 1998; Peng et al. 1999b) or the use of a slurry reactor for liquid phase dimethyl
ether (LPDME) synthesis (Brown et al. 1991; Sardesai and Lee 1998).

4.9.8 M100 and M85

Neat methanol (M100) has many desirable properties that make it an attractive
alternative to petroleum gasoline. It has a high heat of vaporization and relatively low
heating value (about half of gasoline) that leads to a lower flame temperature compared
to gasoline. This results in lower CO, NOx, and hydrocarbons emissions, but higher

39
formaldehyde emissions. Consequently, neat methanol has only found use as a motor
fuel in high-performance racing engines and airplanes that have been fully modified and
adapted to operation on methanol (Fiedler et al. 2003). This includes replacing plastic
components in the fuel system, modifying the carburetor or fuel injection system, and
preheating the fuel mixture.

Methanol is miscible in water and in low concentration methanol mixtures phase

separation can occur. Methanol is also more corrosive than gasoline, however, it is less
toxic and is not carcinogenic. Methanol was used as a gasoline blending agent prior to
the mid-1980s when the EPA prohibited the use of methanol in unleaded gasoline
without the use of a cosolvent alcohol (Davenport et al. 2002). This was done primarily
because methanol exhibits poor solubility in gasoline and has phase separation
problems. However, there has been some success with M85, a mixture of methanol and
gasoline (85 vol%/15 vol%, respectively). Methanol is most commonly used in a mixture
with 15% gasoline for two reasons: (1) a methanol flame is colorless, so gasoline is
added to give the flame some color so that a fire can be detected in the event of a
vehicle crash and (2) neat methanol can cause cold-start problems in the winter, or
vapor lock in the summer [http://www.altfuels.org/m85.html]. Although automobiles have
been manufactured that operate on M85 and some fleets continue to use M85, this fuel
has failed to develop on a large-scale. Contributing factors include adverse consumer
perceptions coupled with a lack of sufficient infrastructure even though only small
changes are required at gasoline fueling station (e.g., linings and seals in tanks, pumps,
and dispensers) in order to handle M85 (Davenport et al. 2002).

M100 is also being targeted for use in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) for fuel cell
vehicle applications. DMFCs allow the use of methanol as fuel without requiring a fuel
processor to extract hydrogen from the methanol. Significant progress has been made
on finding better electrolyte material to prevent methanol crossover through the
membrane. Operating temperatures of direct methanol fuel cells has increased to nearly
100°C. Improved anode catalysts have facilitated methanol oxidation and eliminated the
need for an on-board hydrogen reformer. Several automakers have developed
methanol powered fuel cell vehicles and currently, DaimlerChrysler and Honda both
have two prototype direct methanol fuel cell vehicles. In fact, in 2002 one of
DaimlerChrysler’s vehicles (NECAR 5) completed a 3,000 miles cross-country trip
across the U.S.

4.10 Environmental Performance

Methanol is stable under normal storage conditions. It is not subject to hazardous

polymerization reactions, but can react violently with strong oxidizing agents. The
greatest hazard involved in handling methanol is the danger of fire or explosion (English
et al. 1995).

When used in spark engines, the higher the concentration of methanol in a

methanol/gasoline blend the lower the amount of CO, HC, and NOx in the exhaust
emissions (Letcher 1983). In fact, the addition of tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) and
methanol may reduce the CO emissions up to 40 % and the hydrocarbon emissions up
to 20 % in comparison with conventional gasoline (Schädlich et al. 2003).

40
As far as emissions are concerned, the MTG product has nearly the same emissions as
gasoline from oil unless the methanol for the process is formed from biomass (Vermillion
et al. 2001).

4.11 Cost of Methanol

From January 1993 to October 2001, U.S. spot prices for methanol ranged from a low of
about $0.20/gallon to a high of about $1.50/gallon (Davenport 2002). In general, the
price tended to be between $0.30/gallon ($5/GJ, LHV) and $0.70/gallon ($12/GJ LHV).
Price fluctuations are often a result of oversupply but the price is also highly dependent
on the availability of imports and the price of natural gas. The current price of methanol
listed in Chemical Marketing Reporter (2003) for January 28th is $0.40/gallon ($7/GJ,
LHV) given as a contract price at the point of production. However, on January 6th the
price was listed as $0.62/gallon ($10/GJ, LHV) (2003).

In producing methanol from natural gas, the majority of the capital cost is in the
reforming step and gas-conditioning step. A capital cost breakdown for the ICI process
is given as: desulfurization (2%), reforming/gas cooling (32%), steam production (14%),
compression (24%), methanol synthesis (22%), and distillation (6%) (Wender 1996).
Using a slurry reactor instead of tubular one reduces the capital cost and decreases the
compression cost (i.e. lower pressure drop across the reactor). In fact, LPMEOH
investment costs are expected to be 5-23% less than the gas phase process of the
same capacity (Hamelinck and Faaij 2001).

(Vermillion et al. 2001), claims that if methanol is formed from biomass, the cost would
be $0.30/gallon to $0.55/gallon higher than if it were produced from natural gas. Table
14 gives cost information from several coal based methanol studies and Table 15 gives
the cost for several biomass-to-methanol studies.

41
Table 14: Comparison of Coal Based Methanol Economic Studies
Study (ChemSystems (Salmon 1986) Synthetic Fuels Associates, Inc. (Wham and (Michaels 1979) (Bailey 1979)
1990) (1983) Forrester III
max MeOH once through 1980)
Cost year 1987 1984 1982 1982 1979 1979 1979
Coal feed unclear 22,000-30,000 23,054 9,662 18,331 4,100 15,767
rate (as received) (as received) (as received) (MAF) (as received) (as received)
(tonne/day)
Coal cost $1.48/GJ $0.95/GJ and $46.47/tonne $50.99/tonne $0.95/GJ $16.5/tonne $22/tonne
$38.6/tonne $1.42/GJ (mine mouth)
Methanol 886 5,000-10,000 14,439 2,231 5,067 1,995 6,395
produced
(tonne/day) plus 833 MWe plus 870 MWe
Price of $6.6/GJ $7.2-$8.8/GJ $6.16/GJ $5.87-$9.43/GJ $8.2/GJ $5/GJ $8.2/GJ
methanol $0.45/gallon $0.49-$0.60/gal $0.42/gallon $0.40-$0.64/gal $0.56/gallon $0.34/gal 1980$ $0.56/gallon
(HHV basis) (price was set and
electricity sold and IRR electricity sold at $8/GJ
at $0.37/kWh calculated to be $0.42/kWh $0.53/gal 1984$
marginal at 7%)
Level of detail Some details – Somewhat Some details – Gives total capital Somewhat Some details – Somewhat
Gives total detailed – puts investment and operating costs, and detailed – Gives total capital detailed –
capital previous studies other economic assumptions Gives total investment and Gives capital
investment and on same cost capital operating costs, cost by plant
operating costs, basis investment, and other sections,
and other operating economic operating
economic costs, and assumptions costs, and
assumptions other economic other economic
assumptions assumptions

42
Table 15: Comparison of Biomass Based Methanol Studies
(a)
Study (Hamelinck and Faaij (Novem 2000) (Larson 1992) (Wyman et al. (1990) (Mudge et al.
(a), (c) (a)
2001) (a), (b) 1993) 1981)
Cost year 2001 1999 1991 1989 1987 1980
Biomass feed 1,920 1,358 1,650 1,814 1,814 - 9,841 1,800
rate
(BD tonne/day)
Biomass cost $2/GJ $3/GJ $2/GJ $2.45/GJ $2.45/GJ $1.2/GJ
$38/dry tonne $55/dry tonne $38/dry tonne $46/dry tonne $46/dry tonne $22/dry tonne
($0-2.4/GJ ($0-154/dry tonne
sensitivity) sensitivity)
Electricity $0.03/kWh $0.067/kWh $0.05/kWh not given $0.041/kWh $0.03/kWh
selling price (purchased) (purchased)
Net power no excess to about about 150 no excess no excess no excess no excess
(MW) 100 MW (@ 91%
production cap)
Other fuels none co-fires nat gas in none none none none
gas turbine
MeOH 613-970 57-196 705-1,004 790-1,110 717 – 4,577 900
produced (@ 91% production
(tonne/day) cap)
Price of MeOH $9-$12/GJ $10.6-$13.6/GJ $9.62-$15.4/GJ $10.01-$19.60/GJ $10-$18.9/GJ $8.2-$10.3/GJ
(HHV basis) $0.58-$0.83/gallon $0.72-$0.93/gallon $0.66-$1.05/gallon $0.68-$1.34/gallon $0.68-$1.29/gal $0.56-$0.70/gallon
(@ 12% discount (for 20% capital (sensitivity:
rate) recovery factor) $5.9-$22.7/GJ
$0.40-$1.55/gal)
Level of detail Very detailed - Gives Some details - Somewhat Somewhat Somewhat Somewhat
costs of individual Gives costs of detailed - Gives detailed - Gives detailed - Gives detailed - Gives
equipment, operating major plant capital and capital and capital cost by capital cost by
costs, and other sections, and operating costs operating costs section and section, operating
economic assumptions used and cash flow operating costs costs, and other
parameters and to determine sheet economic
assumptions installed costs parameters
Notes: (a) Examined direct & indirect gasifiers and atmospheric and pressurized gasifiers.
(b) Several configurations examined (varied type of gas cleaning, reforming, and gas or LPMeOH with and without recycle)
(c) Examined once through LPMeOH with combined heat and power.

43
4.11.1 Cost of Formaldehyde

A study was performed to examine the three industrial routes for producing
formaldehyde. The cost of production for each process is given in Table 16 below
(Reuss et al. 2003). The BASF process is the most economical, followed by the Formox
process. The key feature in the BASF process design is a liquid recirculation system
that produces excess steam while simultaneous savings cooling water. For comparison,
the price of formaldehyde given in Chemical Marketing Reporter for January 28th 2003 is
$463/tonne ($0.21/lb).

Table 16: Comparison of Formaldehyde Production Costs

Process BASF Incomplete conversion & Formox
MeOH recovery
Cost of production ($/tonne) 345 364 339
Return of capital investment 33 43 48
($/tonne)
Cost of production with ROI 378 407 387
($/tonne)

4.11.2 Cost of MTBE

From 1980 to 2001, the average U.S. Gulf Coast price for MTBE fluctuated between
$0.63/gallon (1998) and $1.27/gallon (1981) (Davenport et al. 2002). MTBE is produced
in three different manners: by refinery/petrochemical plants using by-product
isobutylene, by merchant plants which isomerize n- and iso-butane and dehydrogenate
isobutane to isobutylene, and by tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) plants which react by-
product TBA from propylene oxide production with methanol (Lidderdale 2001). The first
is the cheapest way to produce MTBE at a cost of $6,000 - $10,000/BPD of capacity.
The second is the most expensive at a cost of $20,000 - $28,000/BPD of capacity and
only 2 plants in the U.S. use the third manner to produce MTBE.

4.11.3 Cost of Acetic Acid

Chemical Marketing Reporter gives the current cost (January 28th 2003) of acetic acid to
be $992/tonne ($0.45/lb).

4.11.4 Cost of MTG

The capital cost of the New Zealand MTG plant (14,450 BPD) was estimated to be $767
million dollars (mid-1980) with a total project cost of $1,475 million dollars (1985) (Bem
1985; Maiden 1983). The production cost including return on investment was estimated
to be $0.96/gallon and the New Zealand government planned to sell the gasoline for
$1.31/gallon (Bem 1985). Initial studies performed prior to design and construction of
the plant came up with a gasoline cost of $0.74/gallon (Bem 1985). Table 17 is a
comparison of three other studies.

44
Table 17: Comparison of Coal Based MTG Economic Studies
Study (Lee et al. 1980) (Wham and Forrester III (Edwards et al. 1979)
1980)
Cost year 1977 1979 1978
Coal feed rate 24,762 18,431 18,118
(tonne/day) (as received) (MAF) (as received)
Coal cost $7.7/tonne $0.95/GJ $5.5/tonne
Gasoline 23,065 21,921 15,000
produced (BPD)
Price of gasoline $0.67-$0.87/gallon $1.25/gallon $0.90/gallon
$5.1-$6.6/GJ (HHV) $9.5/GJ (HHV) $6.8/GJ (HHV)
$5.5-$7.2/GJ (LHV) $10.3/GJ (LHV) $7.4/GJ (LHV)

Level of detail Not very detailed – Some details – Gives Somewhat detailed –
but refers to a more total capital investment, Gives capital cost by
detailed report breakdown of operating plant sections,
(Schreiner 1978) costs, and other operating costs, and
which gives overall economic assumptions other economic
capital costs and assumptions
other details

4.11.5 Cost of MTO

One study gives the cost of methanol, olefins via MTO, and gasoline via MTG to be
$0.45/gal ($0.68/lb), $0.16/lb, and $0.59/gal ($0.99/lb), respectively (Gradassi 1998) for
a natural gas price of $0.47/GJ. Overall, there are not many economic details given in
the report.

4.11.6 Cost of DME

At a natural gas cost of $0.6/MMBTU, DME can be produced for $0.67/gallon

(Chaumette et al. 1999). In comparison, their estimate for methanol production at this
natural gas price is $0.35/gallon.

45
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5 MIXED HIGHER ALCOHOLS
5.1 Introduction

The production of higher alcohols from syngas has been known since the beginning of
the last century. There are several processes that can be used to make mixed alcohols
from CO and H2; including isosynthesis, variants of FTS, oxosynthesis involving the
hydroformylation of olefins, and homologation of methanol and lower molecular weight
alcohols to make higher alcohols. With the development of various gas-to-liquids
processes such as Fischer-Tropsch and methanol synthesis, it was recognized that
higher alcohols were by-products of these processes when catalysts or conditions were
not optimized. Modified FT or methanol synthesis catalysts can be promoted with alkali
metals to shift the products towards higher alcohols. Higher alcohol synthesis (HAS) is
also optimized at higher temperatures and lower space velocities compared to methanol
synthesis and with H2/CO ≈ 1 instead of 2 or greater.

While other syngas-to-liquids processes were being commercialized, the commercial

success of HAS has been limited by poor selectivity and low product yields. Single pass
yields of HAS are on the order of 10% syngas conversion to alcohols with methanol
typically being the most abundant alcohol produced (Herman 2000; Wender 1996).
Methanol can be recycled to produce more higher alcohols or removed and sold
separately. Despite these shortcomings, in 1913 BASF patented a process to
synthesize a mixture of alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and other organic compounds
from CO and H2 over an alkalized Co oxide catalyst at 10-20 MPa and 300-400°C
(Herman 1991). Fisher and Tropsch developed the “Synthol” process for alcohol
production in 1923. They used an alkalized Fe catalyst to convert syngas to alcohols at
>10 MPa and 400-450°C. Between 1935 and 1945 commercial mixed alcohol synthesis
was performed with alkalized ZnO/Cr2O3 catalysts. The demand for mixed alcohol
production from syngas decreased after 1945 with the increasing availability of
petroleum and the desire for neat alcohols for manufacturing chemicals (Forzatti et al.
1991). Much of this early work on HAS is detailed in the review by Natta, Colombo, and
Pasquon (Natta et al. 1957).

The oil embargo of the 1970’s provided the incentive for renewed interest in the
synthesis and utilization of higher alcohols as a transportation fuel to be blended with
gasoline. Mixed alcohols are a more attractive gasoline blending stock for octane
enhancement compared to methanol. The octane rating is a measure of the fuel’s
resistance to uncontrolled ignition by spurious sources such as hot spots in the
combustion chamber (Mills and Ecklund 1989). The higher the octane number the less
likelihood that a spurious ignition will occur. The undesirable properties of using neat
methanol as a gasoline additive include high volatility, phase separation tendency when
water is present, and incompatibility with certain engine fuel system components. Using
mixed alcohols, containing methanol and higher alcohols, avoids these problems. Mixed
alcohols have lower vapor pressure, better solubility with hydrocarbon components,
improved water tolerance, and higher overall heating value compared to methanol. Also,
when used as a diesel substitute at levels of 20-30 wt% higher alcohols, the calorific
value, lubrication properties, and ignition properties are improved compared to pure
methanol (Höhlein et al. 1991). Another important aspect is that it may be possible to
use the existing fuel infrastructure.

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The environmental impact of oxygenates in gasoline is another driver which increased
the interest in HAS. The 1990 Clean Air Act mandated the seasonal use of oxygenated
compounds in gasoline in specific regions of the U.S. to improve air quality by reducing
volatile organic hydrocarbon emissions that lead to increased ground level ozone
concentrations. Until recently, the oxygenate of choice as a gasoline additive was
methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). The rapid increase in demand for MTBE led to concerns
about shortages of petroleum-derived isobutene (Verkerk et al. 1999). Commercial
synthesis of MTBE involves the etherification of isobutene with methanol over an acidic
ion exchange catalyst.

Recognizing an opportunity, research efforts increased to optimize the HAS process and
catalysts to yield mixtures of methanol and isobutanol that could be combined in a
dehydrative coupling reaction to produce MTBE from non-petroleum sources (Burcham
et al. 1998; Verkerk et al. 1999). The optimum molar ratio of methanol to isobutanol for
MTBE production is one. The isobutanol is dehydrated to yield isobutene that is then
combined with methanol in the commercial MTBE synthesis process. These activities
may not be important in the future considering the current environmental concerns being
encountered with MTBE leaking into watersheds.

5.2 Technology Description

Currently there are no commercial plants that produce mixed alcohols in the C2 to C6
range. From a commercial viewpoint, the selectivity of HAS catalysts has not advanced
to the point of commercial feasibility. However, the main process steps include
synthesis gas production followed by gas clean up and conditioning, alcohol synthesis,
and product purification.

5.3 Chemistry

The mechanism for HAS involves a complex set of numerous reactions with multiple
pathways leading to a variety of products that are impacted by kinetic and
thermodynamic constraints. No kinetic analysis of HAS has been published that is
capable of globally predicting product compositions over ranges of operating conditions
(Beretta et al. 1996). Depending on the process conditions and catalysts used, the most
abundant products are typically methanol and CO2. The first step in HAS is the
formation of a C-C bond by CO insertion into CH3OH. Linear alcohols are produced in a
stepwise fashion involving the synthesis of methanol followed by its successive
homologation to ethanol, propanol, butanol, etc. (Quarderer 1986). Therefore, the HAS
catalyst should have methanol synthesis activity because methanol can be considered a
recurrent C1 reactant. Branched higher alcohols are typically formed from modified
methanol synthesis and modified FTS catalysts and straight chain alcohols are formed
when alkalized MoS2 catalysts are used.

The mechanism for HAS over modified high temperature methanol synthesis catalysts
has been described as a unique carbon-chain growth mechanism that is referred to as
oxygen retention reversal (ORR) aldol condensation with β-carbon (adjacent to the
alcohol oxygen) addition (Herman 2000). Individual reactions in HAS can be grouped
into several distinct reaction types (Nunan et al. 1989):

53
 1. Linear chain growth by C1 addition at the end of the chain to yield primary linear
alcohols.
2. Beta addition between the C1 and Cn (n ≥ 2) to yield, for example, 1-propanol and
branched primary alcohols such as 2-methyl-1-propanol (isobutanol) for n = 2
3. Beta addition between Cm (m = 2 or 3) and Cn (n ≥ 2).
4. Methyl ester formation via carboxylic acids formed from synthesized alcohols
5. Carbonylation of methanol to yield methyl formate

Linear alcohols can proceed along the reaction path but branched alcohols are terminal
products of the aldol condensation pathways because they lack the 2 α-hydrogens
required for chain growth (Hilmen et al. 1998).

The general HAS reaction mechanism has the following overall stoichiometry (Hutchings
et al. 1988; Wong et al. 1986):

nCO + 2nH2 → CnH2n+1OH + (n-1)H2O (ΔHr = -61.2 kcal/mol)

with n typically ranging from 1 to 8 (Forzatti et al. 1991). The reaction stoichiometry
suggests that the optimum CO/H2 = 2, however, the simultaneous occurrence of the
WGS reaction means that the optimum ratio is closer to 1. The major reactions in HAS
are: methanol synthesis, FT reactions, higher alcohol synthesis reactions, and the water-
gas shift (WGS) reaction (Xiaoding et al. 1987). The following is a list of some of these
more important reactions described above that are associated with HAS.

CO + 2H2 ↔ CH3OH Methanol synthesis

CO + H2O ↔ CO2 + H2 Water-Gas Shift
CH3OH + CO ↔ CH3CHO + H2O CO beta addition - aldehydes
CH3OH + CO + 2H2 ↔ CH3CH2OH + H2O Ethanol Homologation
CnH2n-1OH + CO + 2H2 ↔ CH3(CH2)nOH + H2O HAS Homologation
2 CH3OH ↔ CH3CH2OH + H2O Condensation/dehydration
2 CH3OH ↔ (CH3)2CO + H2O DME formation
(CH3)2CO + H2 ↔ (CH3)2CHOH Branched iso-alcohols
2 CH3CHO ↔ CH3COOCH2CH3 Methyl ester synthesis

Competing reactions:
nCO + 2nH2 → CnH2n + nH2O Olefins
nCO + (2n+1)H2 → CnH2n+2 + nH2O Paraffins

Methanol formation is favored at low temperatures and high pressures (Courty et al.
1990). At high pressures, HAS increases as the temperature is increased at the
expense of methanol formation and minimizing hydrocarbon formation. To maximize
higher alcohols, the H2/CO ratio should be close to the usage ratio, which is about 1.
Lower H2/CO ratios favor CO insertion and C-C chain growth. In general, the reaction
conditions for HAS are more severe than those for methanol production. To increase
the yield of higher alcohols, methanol can be recycled for subsequent homologation
provided the catalyst shows good hydrocarbonylation activity (Courty et al. 1990;
Quarderer 1986). Unavoidably, the main reactions stated above produce H2O and CO2
as by-products. WGS plays a major role and depending on the catalyst’s shift activity,
some chemical dehydration of alcohols can be undertaken in-situ to produce higher
alcohols, esters, and ethers (Courty et al. 1990). Secondary reactions also produce
hydrocarbons (HCs) including aldehydes and ketones (Courty et al. 1984; Courty et al.

54
1990). Also, frequently, substantial quantities of methane are formed (Roberts et al.
1992). Thermodynamic constraints limit the theoretical yield of HAS, and as in other
syngas-to-liquids processes, one of the most important limitations to HAS is removing
the considerable heat of reaction to maintain control of process temperatures (Courty et
al. 1984). Compared to methanol, less alcohol product is made per mole of CO, more
byproduct is made per mole of alcohol product, and the heat release is greater.

5.4 Catalysts

HAS catalysts are essentially bifunctional base-hydrogenation catalysts and are typically
categorized into several groups based on their composition. Common to all HAS
catalysts is the addition of alkali metals to the formulation. The activating character of
alkali metal promoters is a function of their basicity. Alkali metals provide a basic site to
catalyze the aldol condensation reaction by activating surface adsorbed CO and
enhancing the formation of the formate intermediate. For the following, 4 groups of
catalysts will be discussed (Herman 1991):

1) Modified high pressure methanol synthesis catalysts – alkali-doped

ZnO/Cr2O3
2) Modified low pressure methanol synthesis catalysts – alkali-doped Cu/ZnO
and Cu/ZnO/Al2O3
3) Modified Fischer-Tropsch catalysts – alkali-doped CuO/CoO/Al2O3
4) Alkali-doped sulfides, mainly MoS2

One of the major hurdles to overcome before HAS becomes an economic commercial
process is improved catalysts that increase the productivity and selectivity to higher
alcohols (Fierro 1993).

To date modified methanol and modified FT catalysts have been more effective in the
production of mixed alcohols; the sulfide-based catalysts tend to be less active than the
oxide-based catalysts (Herman 2000). Rhodium (Rh) based catalysts are another group
of catalysts that are not specifically used for HAS but have been developed for selective
ethanol synthesis. Other C2 oxygenates (i.e., acetaldehyde and acetic acid) as well as
increased levels of methane production are also synthesized over Rh-based catalysts
(Nirula 1994). The high cost and limited availability of rhodium for ethanol synthesis
catalysts will impact any commercialization of these synthetic processes for converting
syngas to ethanol (Xiaoding et al. 1987).

5.4.1 Modified high pressure/high temperature methanol synthesis

catalysts

Alkali/ZnO/Cr2O3 - process conditions: 300-425°C and 12.5-30 MPa - major product:

Branched primary alcohols

For non-alkalized catalysts containing Cu-Zn-Cr oxides, HAS yields were optimized for
low Cr levels (15-21 wt% Cr). Chromia does not provide an active catalytic site but it is
beneficial in small amounts because it acts as a structural promoter that increases the
surface area of the catalyst and helps inhibit Cu sintering (Campos-Martin et al. 1995).

55
Methanol synthesis is fast compared to HAS over a 3% K2O/ZnCr catalyst, but is still
equilibrium limited, even at high space velocities. CO2-rich feeds have been shown to
inhibit HAS; a 3-fold decrease in C2+ alcohol production was measured for HAS at 400°C
with 6% CO2 (Tronconi et al. 1989). The productivity of primary alcohols was maximized
over these alkali metal promoted high-temperature methanol synthesis catalysts with a
CO2-free feed with H2/CO = 1 and CO conversion of ~ 5-20%.

Nunan, et al. (Nunan et al. 1989) studied the effect of Cs-doping on Cu/ZnO catalysts.
They determined that HAS product yields were maximized at 0.3-0.5 mol% Cs which
translated to a surface concentration of 15-25%. The role of Cs-addition is to increase
the ethanol synthesis rate that enhances the formation of higher alcohols. HAS
conditions were 310°C at 7.6 MPa with H2/CO = 0.45. Numerous papers by Hoflund and
his group systematically describe the properties and effectiveness of promoted Zn/Cr
HAS catalysts (Epling et al. 1997; Epling et al. 1998; Epling et al. 1999; Hoflund et al.
1997; Hoflund et al. 1999; Minahan et al. 1998a; Minahan et al. 1998b).

5.4.2 Modified low pressure/low temperature methanol synthesis catalysts

Alkali/Cu/ZnO(Al2O3) - process conditions: 275-310°C and 5-10 MPa - major product:

primary alcohols (Upper temperature of processes using copper catalysts is limited
because of sintering)

Many of the early commercial processes for HAS were based on alkali promoted, low
temperature methanol synthesis catalysts. Lurgi developed the Octamix process in
collaboration with Süd Chemie, who provided the catalyst for the process. The Octamix
catalyst contained 25-40 wt% CuO, 10-18 wt% Al2O3, 30-45 wt% ZnO, and 1.7-2.5 wt%
K2O with a Cu:Zn ratio of 0.4-1.9 with 3-18 wt% of a variety of oxidic promoters (Cr, Ce,
La, Mn, or Th) (Xiaoding et al. 1987). With a starting gas composition of 25-30% CO, 0-
8% N2, 0-5% CO2, 0-5% CH4, in a balance of H2; CO conversions were between 21-29%
with 29-45% selectivity for C2+ alcohols and 17-25% CO2 selectivity at process
conditions of 250-400°C, 10 MPa, and a gas hourly space velocity of 1000-10,000/h
(Xiaoding et al. 1987). Methanol is the most abundant oxygenated product (~ 80%) and
the average carbon number of the oxygenated products is lower compared to products
from modified high temperature methanol catalysts (Forzatti et al. 1991). The
effectiveness of modified low temperature methanol synthesis catalysts has been
detailed in the literature (Elliott and Pennella 1988; Nunan et al. 1989; Smith and
Anderson 1984; Smith and Klier 1992).

5.4.3 Modified Fischer-Tropsch catalysts

Alkali/CuO/CoO-based catalysts - process conditions: 260-340°C and 6-20 MPa - major

product: Linear primary alcohols that follow ASF distribution

The commercial HAS process sought and developed by the Institut Français du Pétrole
(IFP) and collaborators was based on modified Fischer-Tropsch catalysts. The IFP
catalyst was a homogeneous mixed-oxide formulation containing Cu and Co on an
alumina support as the active components for HAS modified with Zn and alkali metals.
The catalysts were designed for HAS process conditions similar to low temperature
methanol synthesis process conditions (5-15 MPa, T = 220-350°C, H2/CO = 0.5-4 with
CO2 also as a reactant) (Xiaoding et al. 1987). Patented IFP catalyst formulations have
the following composition, on an element basis: 10-50% Cu; 5-25% Co; 5-30% Al; 10-

56
70% Zn; alkali/Al = 0-0.2; Zn/Al = 0.4-2.0; Co/Al = 0.2-0.75; Cu/Al = 0.1-3.0 (Xiaoding et
al. 1987). The homogeneity of the catalyst correlates with good catalyst performance.

The IFP process yields mainly saturated, straight-chained terminal alcohols that follow
an Anderson-Shultz-Flory-type (ASF) distribution for chain growth. At optimal conditions,
carbon conversion efficiency of CO and CO2 is between 5 and 30% and produces a
liquid product containing 30-50% higher alcohols with hydrocarbons being the primary
byproducts. The lack of long-term stability and low activity of these catalysts hinders the
commercial application of this HAS process. Catalyst lifetimes have been quoted as
long as 8000 h at the pilot-scale with little deactivation, caused mainly by coke formation
and sintering that decreases the homogeneity of the catalyst (Xiaoding et al. 1987).
Additional discussions of IFP-type catalyst studies have been presented in the literature
(Courty et al. 1984; Courty et al. 1990; Courty et al. 1982; Dai et al. 1989; Dalmon et al.
1992).

5.4.4 Alkali-doped sulfides, mainly MoS2

Alkali/MoS2 - process conditions: 260-350°C and 3-17.5 MPa - major product: linear
alcohols

In 1984, the Dow Chemical Company and Union Carbide Corporation independently
disclosed a new catalyst system for converting syngas to linear alcohols. The catalysts
were either supported or unsupported alkali-promoted MoS2 or Co/MoS2 (Herman 1991).
Sulfide catalysts, such as MoS2, are well known hydrogenation catalysts, however,
adding alkali metals as dopants shifts the products to alcohols rather than hydrocarbons.
The role of the alkali metal is to suppress the hydrogenation activity of the Mo active site
and to provide additional active sites for alcohol formation. Cesium is the most effective
alkali promoter (Herman 2000), although K-addition has been extensively studied. The
catalysts have 75-90% selectivity to higher alcohols from syngas with H2/CO = 1 with ~
10% CO conversion efficiency (Herman 1991). Both higher alcohols and hydrocarbons
formed over sufide catalysts follow a similar ASF molecular weight distribution.

These catalysts have the unique property of being extremely resistant to sulfur
poisoning, in fact, 50-100 ppm sulfur in the feed gas is required in the process to
maintain the sulfidity of the catalyst (Courty et al. 1990). H2S in the feed gas is also
thought to moderate the hydrogenation properties of the catalyst and improve selectivity
of higher alcohols by reducing methanol production (Forzatti et al. 1991).

Sulfide catalysts are also less sensitive to CO2 in the syngas but the presence of large
amounts (>30%) of CO2 has been shown to retard the catalyst activity (Herman 1991).
Moderate to low (7%) CO2 concentration in the syngas does not significantly impact CO
conversion. The selectivity to higher alcohols versus methanol is reduced by the
presence of even low levels of CO2 (Herman 1991) so CO2 removal is recommended for
processes using sulfide catalysts.

Adding Co to alkalized MoS2 catalysts increases the production of ethanol and other
higher alcohols because Co promotes the homologation of methanol to ethanol (Forzatti
et al. 1991). Activity of the sulfide catalysts can also depend on the catalyst support
material (Avila et al. 1995; Bian et al. 1998; Iranmahboob and Hill 2002; Iranmahboob et
al. 2002; Li et al. 1998).

57
5.5 Reactors

Similar to other syngas conversion processes, one of the most important aspects of HAS
is removing the large excess heat of reaction to maintain control of process
temperatures, maximize yields, and minimize catalyst deactivation by sintering. HAS is
performed in reactors that are similar to methanol and FT synthesis processes.
Research and development is being conducted to investigate the use of slurry phase
reactors for HAS. ChemSystems has conducted a pilot-scale study of isobutatnol
synthesis in a slurry reactor using a Cs-promoted Cu/Zn/Al2O3 catalyst in hydrocarbon oil
(40 wt% slurry) at 12.5 MPa and 350°C (ChemSystems 1990; Herman 2000). Other
HAS processes based on a “double bed” configuration have been explored. The idea is
to optimize the production of methanol from syngas in the first reactor using a Cu-based
catalyst at a lower temperature. The second reactor usually operates at a slightly higher
temperature with a non-Cu Zn-chromite based catalyst to increase the yield of higher
alcohols, particularly isobutanol by maximizing the C-C forming steps (Verkerk et al.
1999).

5.6 Gas Cleanliness Requirements

Gas cleanliness requirements for the modified FT and modified methanol synthesis
catalysts are the same as those for the unmodified catalysts (see the gas cleanliness
requirements section in the FT chapter and in the methanol chapter). Because the
catalyst that Dow uses is already sulfided it is extremely resistant to poisoning by sulfur
in the syngas (1984).

5.7 Status/Technology Developers

As stated previously, currently there are no commercial plants that produce mixed
alcohols in the C2 to C6 range. Table 20 gives information regarding companies that
have actively pursued mixed alcohols research. Generally, the H2/CO ratio is 1-1.4
except for the Snamprogetti which has a range of 0.5-3. In terms of commercialization,
Dow, IFP and Snamprogetti are the most advanced in their process development (Nirula
1994).

5.7.1 Snamprogetti (also referred to as SEHT - Snamprogetti, Enichem,

and Haldor Topsoe)

Snamprogetti and Haldor Topsoe developed this process jointly. A 12,000 tonne/yr pilot
plant was started-up in 1982 in Pisticci, Italy (Olayan 1987). It was operated from 1982-
1987 (Courty et al. 1990; Mills and Ecklund 1989; Nirula 1994). The process is similar to
that for methanol production with a different catalyst and a higher operating temperature.
In their proposed process, syngas is produced via POx of natural gas then mixed
alcohols are synthesized in fixed bed adiabatic reactors. The crude alcohol mixture
contains 20% water. The product is purified using 3 distillation columns. The first
removes methanol and ethanol, the second is a stripping column to remove water, and
the third recovers the C3+ alcohols using azeotropic distillation with cyclohexane (El
Sawy 1990; Fox 1993). The final water content is below 0.1 wt% (Ricci et al. 1984).

58
The alcohol mixture was called MAS (Metanolo piu Alcoli Superiori – methanol plus
higher alcohols) (Mills and Ecklund 1989). It was blended into gasoline at about 5 vol%
and marketed successfully as a premium gasoline known as SUPER E (El Sawy 1990;
Mills and Ecklund 1989). Blends of 10 vol% were also tested in 13 different types of
European cars and compared with conventional gasoline for driveability, acceleration,
octane, exhaust emissions, and fuel economy (Ricci et al. 1984). For all of these
categories except emissions, the alcohol/gasoline fuel blend was shown to be similar to
conventional gasoline. The emissions varied depending on the type of car but in general
there was a reduction in CO (as much as 40%) and unburned HC (roughly 18%), with
slightly higher NOx emissions (Ricci et al. 1984). Extensive research was largely
discontinued because of the availability of large amounts of cheap petroleum.

5.7.2 Dow

Dow’s process was first announced in 1984. They tested 2 high pressure reactors. One
was a fluid bed and the other was a fixed bed (Nirula 1994). Dow’s catalyst has shown
high productivity and a resistance to sulfur. The patented Dow Chemical catalysts
contain free or combined Mo, W, or Re, a free or combined alkali or alkaline-earth metal,
and optionally a support. A catalyst containing 21% Mo and 1.5% K on a carbon support
demonstrated 23.4% CO conversion when a H2/CO mixture equal to 0.84 was passed
over the catalyst at 262°C and 7.2 MPa. The product distribution of the alcohols was: 25
mol% MeOH, 12.4 mol% EtOH, 6.8 mol% 1-propanol, 2 mol% 1-butanol, and 0.3 mol%
C5 alcohols (Quarderer and Cochran 1984). However, in addition to the mixed alcohols,
a substantial amount of CO2, methanol, and HCs have been produced (Xiaoding et al.
1987). The amount of methanol formed can be varied by adjusting the process
conditions and the higher alcohols are predominantly straight chain C2-C5 alcohols. The
water content is low (2-3 wt% given in (Quarderer 1986), and stated to be as low as
0.2% in1984 - Dow).

5.7.3 Lurgi (also referred to as Octamix)

While developing a low pressure methanol synthesis catalyst, a catalyst was discovered
that had tendencies to yield higher alcohols. A 2 TPD demonstration plant was built in
May 1990 at the Institute of Energy Process Engineering at the Research Centre Julich
in cooperation with Lurgi (Goehna and Koenig 1989; Höhlein et al. 1991). This process
differs from methanol synthesis only in the addition of CO2 removal and product
purification. In Lurgi’s process scheme, syngas is produced via a combination of steam
reforming and autothermal reforming then a tubular reactor is used for mixed alcohol
synthesis. The water content of the crude mixture is only 1-2%. Thus a stabilizer
column could be used instead of distillation or else molecular sieves to dry the product
unless recovery of the methanol was desired (El Sawy 1990; Fox 1993). The final water
content is low, 0.1-0.3 wt% (Goehna and Koenig 1989). The Octamix product was
granted an EPA waver to be used as a gasoline additive on February 1, 1988 (El Sawy
1990).

59
Table 18: Companies and Information Regarding Mixed Alcohols Research
Company Country Catalyst T (C) P (psi) H2/CO Products Conversion and Selectivity
type ratio Information
Lurgi Germany Modified 250-420 725-1,450 1-1.2 53.5 wt% MeOH CO conversion = 20-60%
MeOH 41.9 wt% C2-C6
Union U.S. Rhodium 300-350 1,000-2,500 not not found CO selectivity to etoh = 60%
Carbide found
Sagami Japan Rhodium 200-300 735 1.4 Mainly MeOH, CO conversion = 14%
Research EtOH, & CH4 Selectivity to etoh up to 61%
Center Selectivity to alcohols = 90%
IFP France Modified 260-320 850-1,450 1-2 30-50 wt% C2-C4 CO conversion = 12-18%
MeOH Selectivity to alcohols = 70-75%
Hoechst Germany Rhodium 275 1,455 not not found CO selectivity to etoh = 74.5%
found
Snamprogetti Italy Modified 260-420 2,610-3,822 0.5-3 20-40 wt%C2-C4 CO conversion = 17%
MeOH Selectivity to alcohols = 71%
Texaco U.S. Modified 220-240 6,615 not 12-39 wt% Syngas conversion = 40%
(liquid phase FT found non-alcohol Selectivity to products = 75%
system) oxygenates
Dow U.S. Modified 299-310 1,500-2,000 1.1-1.2 30-70 wt% MeOH CO conversion = 10-40%
FT Selectivity to alcohols = 85%
References: (Courty et al. 1990; Goehna and Koenig 1989; Herman 1991; Nirula 1994; Wender 1996).

60
5.7.4 IFP (also referred to as Substifuel)

IFP’s process is in the laboratory stage and they built a 20 BPD unit in Chiba, Japan
(Courty et al. 1990; El Sawy 1990). The IFP process scheme uses steam reforming
followed by multibed quench synthesis reactors and distillation. The distillation section
consists of 3 distillation columns: methanol distillation, extractive distillation with
diethylene glycol (DEG), and distillation to recover the DEG (El Sawy 1990; Fox 1993).
The final product contains about 0.2 wt% water.

5.7.5 EcaleneTM

Another mixed alcohol process, termed EcaleneTM, is currently at the bench scale but is
being scaled up to a 500 gallon/day pilot plant. This is a collaborative project between
Western Research Institute (WRI) and Power Energy Fuels, Inc. (PEFI), who developed
the technology. Table 21 gives the composition of their alcohol mixture which can vary
depending on the process parameters. The main alcohol constituent is ethanol. The
synthesis reactor operates at 290-360°C and 145-1,595 psi (Lucero et al. 2001).

TM
Table 19: Ecalene Composition
Constituent Current range Target composition
(wt%) (wt%)
(Taylor 2002) (Lucero et al. 2001)
Methanol 5-30 0
Ethanol 45-75 75
Propanol 15 9
Butanol 5 7
Pentanol 3 5
Hexanol & higher 2 4

5.8 Environmental Performance

The evaporative emissions from fuel blends containing mixed alcohols (particularly
methanol and ethanol) are typically much higher than emissions from straight gasoline.
As a fuel additive, mixed alcohols have been shown to exhibit a reduction in CO, HCs,
and nitric oxide emissions (Höhlein et al. 1991).

5.9 Cost

Table 22 summarizes the economics of higher alcohol synthesis from several studies
which examine natural gas as the feedstock. Another source gives a breakdown of the
capital cost to be 50% for syngas production, 29% for alcohol synthesis, 17% for CO2
removal, and 4% for alcohols fractionation (Courty et al. 1990). Economies of scale
would improve the economics of mixed alcohol synthesis but it is also extremely
important to reduce energy losses as well as overall heat and momentum transfer duty
(Lange and Tijm 1996).

61
Table 20: Comparison of Mixed Higher Alcohol Economics From Natural Gas
Study (ChemSystems (Salmon 1986) (Courty et al. 1984) (Ricci et al. 1984) (El Sawy 1990) (Bechtel 1998)
1990)

Cost year 1986 1989 1983 1982 1986 Not given

Natural gas $1.9/GJ and $1.9/GJ and $4.3/GJ $0.8-$6.6/GJ $2.8/GJ, $2.6/GJ $1/GJ
cost ($/GJ) $0.47/GJ $0.47/GJ and $0.47/GJ
Methanol/higher 50/50 65/35 (60-70)/(30-40) 70/30 70/30 and 50/50 70/30
alcohol mixture for 70-90%
(wt%) selectivity
Mixed alcohols 550,000 386,000 600,000 730,000 635,000 – 730,000 about 1,700,000
produced
(tonne/yr)
Price of mixed $167.7/tonne Production cost: Production cost: $110-$395/tonne Production cost: $225-$265/tonne
alcohols $0.505/gallon ($1.9/GJ nat gas) $313.9/tonne $0.33-$1.19/gallon ($2.8/GJ nat gas) $0.68-$0.80/gallon
$198-$255/tonne $0.95/gallon $282/tonne
$105.6/tonne $0.60-$0.77/gallon $0.774/gallon ($2.11/GJ nat gas)
$0.318/gallon With 15% return: $279-$318/tonne
($0.47/GJ nat gas) $400/tonne ($0.47/GJ nat gas) $0.84-$0.96/gallon
$162-$199/tonne $1.21/gallon $205/tonne
$0.49-$0.60/gallon $0.562/gallon
Production cost:
For $1/GJ nat gas ($2.6/GJ nat gas)
$150/tonne $0.90-$1.04/gallon
$0.45/gallon
Level of detail Few details Few details Few details Few details Few details Some details
Note: Production cost = no return on investment for these references.

62
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Bechtel Corporation. (1998). "Task 4.2 Commercial Applications - Economics of MTBE

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Beretta, A., Tronconi, E., Forzatti, P., Pasquon, I., Micheli, E., Tagliabue, L., and
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Bian, G.-z., Fan, L., Fu, Y.-l., and Fujimoto, K. (1998). "Mixed Alcohol Synthesis from
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Burcham, M. M., Herman, R. G., and Klier, K. (1998). "Higher alcohol synthesis over
double bed Cs-Cu/ZnO/Cr2O3 catalysts: Optimizing the yields of 2-methyl-1-
propanol (isobutanol)." Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 37(12),
4657-4668.

Campos-Martin, J. M., Guerreroruiz, A., and Fierro, J. L. G. (1995). "Structural and

Surface Properties of CuO-ZnO-Cr2O3 Catalysts and Their Relationship with
Selectivity to Higher Alcohol Synthesis." Journal of Catalysis, 156(2), 208 - 218.

ChemSystems. (1990). "Optimization of Electricity-Methanol Coproduction.

Configurations of Integrated-Gasification-Combined-Cycle/Once-Through."
EPRI/GS-6869.

Courty, P., Arlie, J. P., Convers, A., Mikitenko, P., and Sugier, A. (1984). "C1-C6
Alcohols from Syngas." Hydrocarbon Processing, 63(11), 105-108.

Courty, P., Chaumette, P., Raimbault, C., and Travers, P. (1990). "Production of
methanol-higher alcohol mixtures from natural gas via syngas chemistry." Revue
de l'Institut Francais du Petrole, 45(4), 561-78.

Courty, P., Durand, D., Freund, E., and Sugier, A. (1982). "C1-C6 alcohols from
synthesis gas on copper-cobalt catalysts." J. Mol. Catal., 17(2-3), 241-54.

Dai, L., Chen, Z., Li, G., Li, Y., and Liu, X. (1989). "Synthesis of C1-C5 alcohols from
coal-based syngas." Proceedings - Annual International Pittsburgh Coal
Conference, 6th(2), 739-46.

63
Dalmon, J. A., Chaumette, P., and Mirodatos, C. (1992). "Higher alcohols synthesis on
cobalt based model catalysts." Catalysis Today, 15(1), 101-127.

Elliott, D. J., and Pennella, F. (1988). "Mechanism of ethanol formation from synthesis
gas over copper oxide/zinc oxide/alumina." Journal of Catalysis, 114(1), 90-9.

El Sawy, A. H. (1990). "Evaluation of Mixed Alcohol Production Processes and

Catalysts." NTIS. DE90010325. SAND89-7151, Mitre Corporation.

Epling, W. S., Hoflund, G. B., Hart, W. M., and Minahan, D. M. (1997). "Reaction and
surface characterization study of higher alcohol synthesis catalysts, II. Cs-
promoted commercial Zn/Cr spinel." Journal of Catalysis, 172(1), 13-23.

Epling, W. S., Hoflund, G. B., and Minahan, D. M. (1998). "Reaction and surface
characterization study of higher alcohol synthesis catalysts. VII. Cs- and Pd-
promoted 1: 1 Zn/Cr spinel." Journal of Catalysis, 175(2), 175-184.

Epling, W. S., Hoflund, G. B., and Minahan, D. M. (1999). "Higher alcohol synthesis
reaction study. VI: effect of Cr replacement by Mn on the performance of Cs- and
Cs, Pd-promoted Zn/Cr spinel catalysts." Applied Catalysis, A: General, 183(2),
335-343.

Fierro, J. L. G. (1993). "Catalysis in C1 chemistry: future and prospect." Catalysis

Letters, 22(1-2), 67-91.

Forzatti, P., Tronconi, E., and Pasquon, I. (1991). "Higher Alcohol Synthesis." Catalysis
Reviews-Science and Engineering, 33(1-2), 109-168.

Fox, J. M., III. (1993). "The different catalytic routes for methane valorization: an
assessment of processes for liquid fuels." Catalysis Reviews - Science and
Engineering, 35(2), 169-212.

Goehna, H., and Koenig, P. (1989). "The Octamix process." Indirect Liquefaction, Proc.,
Contract. Rev. Meet.(CONF-891131--DE90 008422), 59-83.

Herman, R. G. (1991). "Chapter 7 - Classical and Non-Classical Routes for Alcohol

Synthesis." New Trends in CO Activation, L. Guczi, ed., Elsevier, New York, 265-
349.

Herman, R. G. (2000). "Advances in catalytic synthesis and utilization of higher

alcohols." Catalysis Today, 55(3), 233-245.

Hilmen, A. M., Xu, M., Gines, M. J. L., and Iglesia, E. (1998). "Synthesis of higher
alcohols on copper catalysts supported on alkali-promoted basic oxides." Applied
Catalysis A: General, 169(2), 355-372.

Hoflund, G. B., Epling, W. S., and Minahan, D. M. (1997). "Higher alcohol synthesis
reaction study using K-promoted ZnO catalysts. III." Catalysis Letters, 45(1,2),
135-138.

64
Hoflund, G. B., Epling, W. S., and Minahan, D. M. (1999). "An efficient catalyst for the
production of isobutanol and methanol from syngas. XI. K- and Pd-promoted
Zn/Cr/Mn spinel (excess ZnO)." Catalysis Letters, 62(2-4), 169-173.

Höhlein, B., Mausbeck, D., Supp, E., and König, P. "Selective Catalysis for the Synthesis
of Energy Alcohols Status and Outlook." International Symposium on Alcohol
Fuels, Florence, Italy, 43-48.

Hutchings, G. J., Copperthwaite, R. G., and Coville, N. J. (1988). "Catalysis for

hydrocarbon formation and transformations." South African Journal of Science,
84(1), 12-16.

Iranmahboob, J., and Hill, D. O. (2002). "Alcohol synthesis from syngas over
K2CO3/CoS/MoS2 on activated carbon." Catalysis Letters, 78(1-4), 49-55.

Iranmahboob, J., Toghiani, H., Hill, D. O., and Nadim, F. (2002). "The influence of clay
on K2CO3/Co-MoS2 catalyst in the production of higher alcohol fuel." Fuel
Processing Technology, 79(1), 71-75.

Lange, J. P., and Tijm, P. J. A. (1996). "Processes for converting methane to liquid fuels:
economic screening through energy management." Chemical Engineering
Science, 51(10), 2379-2387.

Li, X., Feng, L., Liu, Z., Zhong, B., Dadyburjor, D. B., and Kugler, E. L. (1998). "Higher
Alcohols from Synthesis Gas Using Carbon-Supported Doped Molybdenum-
Based Catalysts." Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 37(10), 3853-
3863.

Lucero, A. J., Klepper, R. E., O'Keefe, W. M., and Sethi, V. K. (2001). "Development of a
process for production of mixed alcohols from synthesis gas." Preprints of
Symposia - American Chemical Society, Division of Fuel Chemistry, 46(2), 413-
419.

Mills, G. A., and Ecklund, E. E. (1989). "Alternative Fuels - Progress and Prospects .2."
Chemtech, 19(10), 626-631.

Minahan, D. M., Epling, W. S., and Hoflund, G. B. (1998a). "An efficient catalyst for the
production of isobutanol and methanol from syngas. VIII: Cs- and Pd-promoted
Zn/Cr spinel (excess ZnO)." Catalysis Letters, 50(3,4), 199-203.

Minahan, D. M., Epling, W. S., and Hoflund, G. B. (1998b). "Higher-alcohol synthesis

reaction study. V. Effect of excess ZnO on catalyst performance." Applied
Catalysis, A: General, 166(2), 375-385.

Natta, G., Colombo, U., and Pasquon, I. (1957). "Direct Catalytic Synthesis of Higher
Alcohols from Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen." Catalysis, P. H. Emmett, ed.,
Reinhold, New York, 131-174.

Nirula, S. C. (1994). "Dow/Union Carbide Process for Mixed Alcohols from Syngas."
PEP Review no. 85-1-4, SRI International, Meno Park, CA.

65
Nunan, J. G., Bogdan, C. E., Klier, K., Smith, K. J., Young, C. W., and Herman, R. G.
(1989). "Higher alcohol and oxygenate synthesis over cesium-doped copper/zinc
oxide catalysts." Journal of Catalysis, 116(1), 195-221.

Olayan, H. B. M. (1987). "Selection of technology for synthesis gas based products in

Saudi Arabia." Energy Progress, 7(1), 9-17.

Quarderer, G. J. "Mixed Alcohols from Synthesis Gas." 78th National AICHE Meeting,
New Orleans, Louisiana.

Quarderer, G. J., and Cochran, G. A. (1984). "Catalytic process for producing mixed
alcohols from hydrogen and carbon monoxide." PCT Int. Appl., (Dow Chemical
Co., USA). Wo, 40 pp.

Ricci, R., Paggini, A., Fattore, V., Ancillotti, F., and Sposini, M. (1984). "Production of
methanol and higher alcohols from synthesis gas." Chemia Stosowana, 28(1),
155-68.

Roberts, G. W., Lim, P. K., McCutchen, M. S., and Mawson, S. (1992). "The
thermodynamics of higher alcohol synthesis." Preprints - American Chemical
Society, Division of Petroleum Chemistry, 37(1), 225-33.

Salmon, R. (1986). "Economics of Methanol Production from Coal and Natural Gas."
ORNL-6091, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Smith, K. J., and Anderson, R. B. (1984). "A chain growth scheme for the higher alcohols
synthesis." J. Catal., 85(2), 428-36.

Smith, K. J., and Klier, K. (1992). "An Overview of the Higher Alcohol Synthesis."
Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society, 203, 82-PETR.

Taylor, D. G. (2002). "A process to produce EcaleneTM DE ® Denatured Ethanol form

synthesis gas Utilizing Catalytic Thermal Reforming (CTR) and the "Power
Energy Process".

Tronconi, E., Lietti, L., Forzatti, P., and Pasquon, I. (1989). "Synthesis of Alcohols from
Carbon Oxides and Hydrogen .17. - Higher Alcohol Synthesis over Alkali Metal-
Promoted High- Temperature Methanol Catalysts." Applied Catalysis, 47(2), 317-
333.

Verkerk, K. A. N., Jaeger, B., Finkeldei, C. H., and Keim, W. (1999). "Recent
developments in isobutanol synthesis from synthesis gas." Applied Catalysis, A:
General, 186(1,2), 407-431.

Wender, I. (1996). "Reactions of synthesis gas." Fuel Processing Technology, 48(3),

189-297.

Wong, S. F., Patel, M. S., and Storm, D. A. "Retrofitting Methanol Plants For Higher
Alcohols." 78th American Institute of Chemical Engineers, National Meeting, New
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66
Xiaoding, X., Doesburg, E. B. M., and Scholten, J. J. F. (1987). "Synthesis of higher
alcohols from syngas - recently patented catalysts and tentative ideas on the
mechanism." Catalysis Today, 2(1), 125-170.

67
6 FISCHER-TROPSCH SYNTHESIS
6.1 Introduction

The synthesis of hydrocarbons from CO hydrogenation over transition metal catalysts

was discovered in 1902 when Sabatier and Sanderens produced CH4 from H2 and CO
mixtures passed over Ni, Fe, and Co catalysts. In 1923, Fischer and Tropsch reported
the use of alkalized Fe catalysts to produce liquid hydrocarbons rich in oxygenated
compounds in what was termed the Synthol process. Succeeding these initial
discoveries, considerable effort went into developing catalysts for this process. A
precipitated Co catalyst with 100 parts by weight Co, 5 parts by weight ThO2, 8 parts by
weight MgO, and 200 parts by weight kieselguhr (silicious diatomatous earth) became
known as the “standard” atmospheric pressure process catalyst. In 1936, Fischer and
Pilcher developed the medium pressure (10-15 bar) FTS process. Following this
development, alkalized Fe catalysts were implemented into the medium pressure FTS
process. Collectively, the process of converting CO and H2 mixtures to liquid
hydrocarbons over a transition metal catalyst has become known as the Fischer-Tropsch
synthesis.

Two main characteristics of Fisher-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) are the unavoidable

production of a wide range of hydrocarbon products and the liberation of a large amount
of heat from the highly exothermic synthesis reactions. Consequently, reactor design
and process development has focused heavily on heat removal and temperature control.
The focus of catalyst development is on improved catalyst lifetimes, activity, and
selectivity. Single pass FTS always produces a wide range of olefins, paraffins, and
oxygenated products such as alcohols, aldehydes, acids and ketones with water as a
byproduct. Product distributions are influenced by temperature, feed gas composition
(H2/CO), pressure, catalyst type, and catalyst composition. Product selectivity can also
be improved using multiple step processes to upgrade the FTS products.

In a review by Frohning, et al. (1954), it was cited that upwards of 4000 publications and
a similar number of patents dealing with FTS could be found in the literature. Since then
FTS has attracted an enormous amount of research and development effort. A
comprehensive bibliography of FTS literature, including journal and conference articles,
books, government reports and patents can be found in the Fischer-Tropsch Archive at
www.fischer-topsch.org. This website is sponsored by Syntroleum Corporation in
cooperation with Dr. Anthony Stranges, Professor of History at Texas A&M University
and contains more than 7500 references and citations. This site has collected a
bibliography of the large body of documents from the 1920's through the 1970’s, which
are important for researching the history and development of FTS and related processes
as well as an up to date listing of the latest publications in this field. Many excellent
reviews of FTS have been drawn upon for this report (Mills, 1993; Dry, 2002; and Dry,
1981) in an attempt to summarize, the chemistry (Frohning, et al, 1982), catalyst
development (Bartholemew, 1991; Oukaci, et al, 1999; and Raje, et al, 1997),
commercial processes (Dry, 2002, 1999, 1982; Senden, et al, 1992; Haid, et al, 2002,
Van Nierop et al, 2000), reactor development (Adesini, 1986; Dry, 1988; and Dry and
Hoogendoorm, 1981), and economics of FTS.

68
6.2 Technology Description

There are four main steps to producing FT products: syngas generation, gas purification,
FT synthesis, and product upgrading. See Figure 7 for a generic process flow diagram.
When using natural gas as the feedstock, many authors (Abbott and Crewdson, 2002;
Rostrup-Nielsen, 2000; Vosloo, 2001; and Wilhelm, et al, 2001) have recommended
autothermal reforming or autothermal reforming in combination with steam reforming as
the best option for syngas generation. This is primarily due to the resulting H2/CO ratio
and the fact that there is a more favorable economy of scale for air separation units than
for tubular reactors (steam methane reforming - SMR). If the feedstock is coal, the
syngas is produce via high temperature gasification in the presence of oxygen and
steam. Depending on the types and quantities of FT products desired, either low (200–
240°C) or high temperature (300–350°C) synthesis is used with either an iron or cobalt
catalyst. FTS temperatures are usually kept below 400°C to minimize CH4 production.
Generally, cobalt catalysts are only used at low temperatures because at higher
temperatures a significant amount of methane is produced. Low temperatures yield high
molecular mass linear waxes while high temperatures produce gasoline and low
molecular weight olefins. If maximizing the gasoline product fraction, it is best to use an
iron catalyst at a high temperature in a fixed fluid bed reactor. If maximizing the diesel
product fraction, a slurry reactor with a cobalt catalyst is the best choice. The FT
reactors are operated at pressures ranging from 10-40 bar (145–580 psi). Upgrading
usually means a combination of hydrotreating, hydrocracking, and hydroisomerization in
addition to product separation.

Low T FTS
Slurry (Co) or
Tubular (Fe) Waxes (> C20)
Air, Oxygen, Reactor
Hydrocracking
Steam

Clean syngas
Coal, H2 and CO
Natural Gas, Gasifier
Gas Cleanup Diesel
and Conditioning
or Biomass Particulate Removal
Wet Scrubbing
Catalytic Tar Conversion
Sulfur Scrubbing
WGS CFB or FFB (Fe)
Olefins
etc. Reactor (C3 - C11)
Oligomerization
High T FTS Isomerization
Hydrogenation

Gasoline
Figure 6: FTS General Process Flow Diagram

69
6.3 Chemistry

FTS has long been recognized as a polymerization reaction with the basic steps of 1)
reactant (CO) adsorption on the catalyst surface, 2) chain initiation by CO dissociation
followed by hydrogenation, 3) chain growth by insertion of additional CO molecules
followed by hydrogenation, 4) chain termination, and 5) product desorption from the
catalyst surface. Chemisorbed methyl species are formed by dissociation of absorbed
CO molecules and stepwise addition of hydrogen atoms. These methyl species can
further hydrogenate to form methane or act as initiators for chain growth. Chain growth
occurs via sequential addition of CH2 groups while the growing alkyl chain remains
chemisorbed to the metal surface at the terminal methylene group. Chain termination
can occur at any time during the chain growth process to yield either an α-olefin or an n-
paraffin once the product desorbs.

The following is the FTS reaction:

1) CO + 2H2 € --CH2-- + H2O ΔHr (227°C) = -165kJ/mol (Haid, et al, 2000)

The water-gas shift (WGS) reaction is a secondary reaction that readily occurs when Fe
catalysts are used. Combining reaction one (above) with reaction two (below) gives the
net reaction for Fe catalyzed FTS (reaction 3).

2) CO + H2O € H2 + CO2 (Water-Gas Shift)

3) 2CO + H2 € --CH2-- + CO2 (net overall FTS)

The required H2 to CO ratio for the cobalt catalyst is 2.15 but since the iron catalyst
performs WGS in addition to the FT reaction, the H2 to CO ratio can be slightly lower for
the iron catalyst, 1.7 (Dry, 2002).

Specific FTS products are synthesized according to the following reactions.

4) CO + 3H2 € CH4 + H2O (Methanation)

5) nCO + (2n+1)H2 € CnH2n+2 + nH2O (Paraffins)
6) nCO + 2nH2 € CnH2n + nH2O (Olefins)
7) nCO + 2nH2 € CnH2n+1OH + (n-1)H2O (Alcohols)

Another competing reaction that becomes important in FTS is the Boudouard reaction:

8) 2CO € Cs + CO2

Carbon deposition on the catalyst surface causes catalyst deactivation.

FTS is kinetically controlled and the intrinsic kinetics is stepwise chain growth, in effect
the polymerization of CH2 groups on a catalyst surface. FTS product selectivities are
determined by the ability of a catalyst to catalyze chain propagation versus chain
termination reactions. The polymerization rates, and therefore kinetics, are independent
of the products formed. The probability of chain growth and chain termination is
independent of chain length. Therefore, selectivities of various hydrocarbons can be
predicted based on simple statistical distributions calculated from chain growth

70
probability and carbon number. The chain polymerization kinetics model known as the
Anderson-Shulz-Flory (ASF) model is represented by the following equation:

Wn = n(1-α)2αn-1

Wn is the weight percent of a product containing n carbon atoms and α is the chain
growth probability. This equation is represented graphically in Figure 8 and clearly
displays the predicted distributions for several products and product ranges of particular
interest.

1.0

0.9 CH4

0.8

0.7 Wax
(C35-C120)
Weight Fraction

0.6

0.5 Gasoline
(C5-C11)
0.4
Diesel
0.3 (C9-C25)
C2
0.2
C3
0.1

0.0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
Probability of Chain Growth (α)

Figure 7: Anderson-Shulz-Flory Distribution

Irrespective of operating conditions, the FT reaction always produces a range of olefins,

paraffins, and oxygenated compounds (alcohols, aldehydes, acids, and ketones). There
are several unique aspects of FT products. Regardless of the product type, they are
predominantly linear with high olefinicity. In fact, the paraffin-to-olefin ratio is lower than
thermodynamically predicted. The olefins that do form are predominantly terminal
(alpha). A considerable amount of monomethyl chain branches form and the degree of
branching decreases as the chain length increases. Theoretically, only methane can be
produced with 100% selectivity (Senden, et al, 1992). The only other product that can
be produced with high selectivity is heavy paraffin wax. The gasoline product fraction
has a maximum selectivity of 48% and the maximum diesel product fraction selectivity is
closer to 40% and varies depending on the range of carbon numbers in the product cut.
The variables that influence the distribution of these products are reactor temperature,
pressure, feed gas composition, catalyst type and promoters.

71
6.4 Catalysts

Group VIII transition metal oxides are generally regarded as good CO hydrogenation
catalysts. The earliest catalysts used for FTS were Fe and Co. Vannice has reported a
relative activity of these metals for FTS (Adesina, 1996). In decreasing order of activity:
Ru > Fe > Ni > Co > Rh > Pd > Pt. Ni is basically a methanation catalyst and does not
have the broad selectivity of other FT catalysts. Ru has very high activity and quite high
selectivity for producing high molecular weight products at low temperatures. Fe is also
very active and has WGS activity. Fe readily forms carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides
with metallic character that also have FTS activity. Fe also has a stronger tendency than
Ni or Co to produce carbon that deposits on the surface and deactivates the catalyst.
Co tends to have a longer lifetime than Fe catalysts and does not have WGS activity,
which leads to improved carbon conversion to products because CO2 is not formed. Co
catalysts in FTS yield mainly straight chain hydrocarbons (no oxygenates like Fe).
Although Ru is the most active FTS catalyst it is 3x105 times more expensive than Fe.
Iron is by far the cheapest FTS catalyst of all of these metals. Co catalysts are 230
times more expensive than Fe but are still an alternative to Fe catalysts for FTS because
they demonstrate activity at lower synthesis pressures so higher catalyst costs can be
offset by lower operating costs.

The 3 key properties of FT catalysts are lifetime, activity, and product selectivity.
Optimizing these properties for desired commercial application has been the focus of FT
catalyst research and development since the processes were first discovered. Each one
of these properties can be affected by a variety of strategies including; use of promoters
(chemical and structural), catalyst preparation and formulation, pretreatment and
reduction, selective poisoning, and shape selectivity with zeolites.

The performance of Co catalysts is not very sensitive to the addition of promoters. Early
work demonstrated that the addition of ThO2 improved wax production at atmospheric
pressure but had little effect at higher pressures. With Fe catalysts, however, promoters
and supports are essential catalyst components. Since the discovery of FTS, potassium
has been used as a promoter for Fe catalysts to effectively increase the basicity of the
catalyst surface. The objective is to increase the adsorption of CO to the metal surface,
which tends to withdraw electrons from the metal, by providing an electron donor.
Potassium oxide addition to Fe catalysts also tends to decrease hydrogenation of
adsorbed carbon species so chain growth is enhanced resulting in a higher molecular
weight product distribution that is more olefinic. Potassium promotion also tends to
increase WGS activity and lead to a faster rate of catalyst deactivation because of the
increased rate of carbon deposition of the surface of the catalyst.

Copper has also been successfully used as a promoter in Fe FTS catalysts. It increases
the rate of FTS more effectively than potassium, however, decreases the rate of the
WGS reaction. Copper has been shown to facilitate iron reduction. The average
molecular weight of the products increases in the presence of copper but not as much as
when potassium is used. Potassium promotion is not effective for Co catalysts.

Catalyst preparation impacts the performance of Fe and Co catalysts. Fe catalysts can

be prepared by precipitation onto catalyst supports such as SiO2 or Al2O3 or as fused
iron where formulations are prepared in molten iron, cooled and crushed. The role of
supports in Co catalysts is also important. Since Co is more expensive than Fe,

72
precipitating the ideal concentration of metal onto a support can help reduce catalyst
costs while maximizing activity and durability.

The combination of light transition metal oxides such as MnO with Fe increases the
selectivity of light olefins in FTS. Fe/Mn/K catalysts have shown selectivity for C2-C4
olefins as high as 85-90%. Noble metal addition to Co catalysts increases FTS activity
but not selectivity.

6.5 Reactors

One of the challenges with FTS mentioned above is the removal of the large amount of
excess heat generated by the exothermic synthesis reactions. Insufficient heat removal
leads to localized overheating that results in high carbon deposition leading to catalyst
deactivation. Methane formation also dominates at higher temperatures at the expense
of desired FTS products. For large-scale commercial FTS reactors heat removal and
temperature control are the most important design features to obtain optimum product
selectivity and long catalyst lifetimes. Over the years, basically 4 FTS reactor designs
have been used commercially (see Figure 9).

Syngas Intlet

Gas
Outlet
Gas Gas
Outlet Outlet
Hopper

Catalyst
Tubes Catalyst

Slurry
Bed Wax
Steam Out

Steam
Catalyst
Standpipe Bed

Cooling Cooling
Water Water
Gas Outlet
Syngas
Inlet Syngas
Inlet

Syngas
Wax Outlet Inlet

Multi-tubular Circulating
Fixed Fixed
(ARGE) (Synthol)
(Sasol Advanced Synthol) Slurry Bed
Fixed Bed Fluidized Bed
Fluidized Bed

Figure 8: Types of Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis Reactors

One of the earliest FTS reactor designs was the fixed bed tubular reactor. After many
years of development Ruhrchemie and Lurgi have refined this concept into what is
known as the ARGE high capacity FT reactor that has been used since the inception of
Sasol I. They contain 2,000 tubes filled with Fe catalyst immersed in boiling water for
heat removal. The water bath temperature is maintained in the reactor by controlling the

73
pressure. Syngas is introduced into the top of the reactor, flows through the tubes, and
the products exit at the bottom of the reactor. Wax accounts for 50% of the products.
Conversion efficiencies are on the order of 70%. The reactor is operated at 20-30 bar at
an operating temperature of 220-260ºC. Additional temperature control is obtained by
using high gas velocities and gas recycling. Recycled gas typically is 2.5 times the
amount of fresh syngas introduced into the reactor. Catalyst lifetimes are around 70-100
days (Wender, 1996) and catalysts removal can be quite difficult.

High temperature circulating fluidized bed reactors have been developed for gasoline
and light olefin production. These reactors are known as Synthol reactors and operate
at 350°C and 25 bar. The combined gas feed (fresh and recycled) enters at the bottom
of the reactor and entrains catalyst that is flowing down the standpipe and through the
slide valve. The high gas velocity carries the entrained catalyst into the reaction zone
where heat is removed through heat exchangers. Product gases and catalyst are then
transported into a large diameter catalyst hopper where the catalyst settles out and the
product gases exit through a cyclone. These Synthol reactors have been successfully
used for many years, however, they have a number of limitations. They are physically
very complex reactors that involve circulation of large amounts of catalyst that leads to
considerable erosion in particular regions of the reactor. Synthol reactors have also
reached their design limit in terms of capacity and throughput (7,500 BPD capacity,
(Lutz, 2001)).

The fixed fluidized bed Sasol Advanced Synthol reactor has replaced the circulating
fluidized bed Synthol reactor. Gas is introduced through a distributor and bubbles up
through the catalyst bed. Heat is removed by an internal heat exchanger immersed in
the catalyst bed. These new reactors are half the cost and size of the circulating
reactors for the same capacity, have better thermal efficiency with a less severe
temperature gradient and a lower pressure drop across the reactor. Operating costs are
considerably lower and there is greater process flexibility (in terms of product
distribution) and the possibility for scale-up to 20,000 BPD (Lutz, 2001). Process
conditions in the fixed fluidized bed reactors are similar to those established in the
Synthol reactors.

Another reactor design is the low temperature slurry reactor, which has been considered
since Kolbel’s pioneering work in the 1950’s (Dry, 1996; and Dry, 2002). These 3-phase
reactors consist of a solid catalyst suspended and dispersed in a high thermal capacity
liquid (often the FT wax product). Syngas is bubbled through the liquid phase achieving
excellent contact with catalyst while keeping the catalyst particles dispersed. Slurry
reactors are optimized at low temperatures for FT wax production with low methane
production. Compared to the fluidized bed reactors, the liquid slurry bed offers the
advantages of better temperature control, lower catalyst loading, and significantly lower
catalyst attrition rates. The improved isothermal conditions in slurry bed reactors allows
for higher average reactor temperatures leading to higher conversions to products.
Slurry bed reactors also cost 75% less than the much more complex multitubular fixed
bed reactors. These reactors have only recently been put into commercial FT
production primarily because one of the technical barriers, which required considerable
development, was reliable catalyst separation from the FT waxes.

74
6.6 Gas Cleanliness Requirements

FTS catalysts can lose activity as a result of 1) conversion of the active metal site to an
inactive oxide site, 2) sintering, 3) loss of active area by carbon deposition, and 4)
chemical poisoning. Some of these mechanisms are unavoidable and others can be
prevented or minimized by insuring that the impurity levels in the incident syngas are
acceptable for the given process.

Coke deposition is the most important mode of catalyst deactivation that can be
impacted by addition of promoters to catalysts and reaction temperature and pressure.
This mode of catalyst deactivation is largely unavoidable and FTS processes must be
operated in a manner that the decreasing output from coke deposition is balanced with
the economic considerations of catalyst regeneration or replacement. In general,
because of its high activity, the coke deposition rate is higher for Fe catalyst than Co
catalyst. Consequently, Co catalysts have longer lifetimes.

One of the more controllable modes of catalyst deactivation is that induced by poisoning
of the active sites by impurities in the syngas. By far the most abundant, important, and
most studied FTS catalyst poison is sulfur. Sulfur is present in both natural gas and coal
and during steam reforming or gasification gets converted primarily to H2S plus other
organic sulfur compounds. Sulfur compounds rapidly deactivate both iron and cobalt
catalysts, presumably by forming surface metal sulfides that do not have FTS activity.
Ideally, there should be no sulfur in the syngas but there is always a small amount that
gets through to the catalyst. There is really no safe sulfur level in FTS. Again, the level
of gas cleaning required is based on economic considerations; namely how long the
catalyst remains active versus the investment in gas cleaning.

In the beginning, Fischer recommended 4 ppm as the maximum sulfur content in the
FTS feedgas. Dry (1981) recommends a maximum sulfur content of 0.2 ppm based on
commercial experience in the Sasol plants. Co catalysts are more sensitive to sulfur
poisoning than Fe catalysts. Given the relative cost of Co versus Fe, more efficient
sulfur removal should be expected for FTS with Co catalysts. Several more recent
references cite even lower sulfur tolerances. Boerrigter, et al, (2002) state that sulfur
levels in syngas for FTS should be below 1 ppmv and Turk, et al, (2001) claim that the
total sulfur content in syngas should be 60 ppb. In general, for a fixed bed reactor
design, any catalyst poison will have the most pronounced affect near the gas inlet and
propagate through the reactor towards the outlet whereas in a fluidized bed design the
poison will have a uniform affect throughout the reactor.

Other syngas impurities are also known to poison FTS catalysts. Halide levels in syngas
should be less than 10 ppb (Boerrigter, et al, 2002) and referenced nitrogen levels are
10 ppmv NH3, 0.1 ppmv NOx and 10 ppb HCN (Turk, et al, 2001). Additionally, water
oxidizes FT catalysts (both Fe & Co) but the rate of oxidation is higher for the iron
catalyst. Plus water has an inhibiting effect on the iron catalyst because of its WGS
activity (Espinoza, et al, 2000). Table 23 summarizes the syngas impurities and
tolerances.

75
Table 21: Syngas Impurities and Tolerances for Fisher-Tropsch
Level Source
Sulfur 0.2 ppm Dry, 1981
1 ppmv Boerrigter, et al, 2002
60 ppb Turk, et al, 2001
Halides 10 ppb Boerrigter, et al, 2002
Nitrogen 10 ppmv NH3 Turk, et al, 2001
0.1 ppmv NOx
10 ppb HCN
Note: There are differing points of view regarding sulfur level but in general, the sulfur content of
the syngas should be minimized according to economics.

Commercial processes are available to clean syngas to meet these stringent

contaminant requirements. The Rectisol process uses chilled methanol to scrub the raw
syngas. NH3, H2S, tars, and CO2 are removed from syngas to required levels. Other
chemical absorption processes include potassium carbonate or alkanolamine (MEA –
monoethanolamine or DEA – diethanolamine) for wet scrubbing. Fixed bed reactors
containing ZnO are also used for sulfur polishing. Whether or not these gas-cleaning
processes are economical will depend on the scale of the FTS process.

6.7 Status/Technology Developers

The first FT plants began operation in Germany in 1938. There were nine plants with a
total capacity of 660,000 tonnes/yr of FT products. These plants closed down after the
second world war (Dry, 2002). Then in 1955, Sasol, a world-leader in the commercial
production of liquid fuels and chemicals from coal and crude oil, started up it’s first FT
plant (Sasol I) in Sasolburg, South Africa. The plant’s capacity is 6 million tonnes/yr of
FT products from coal. There are five tubular fixed bed (ARGE) reactors for wax
production that are still operational today and three circulating fluid bed (CFB) reactors
(Synthol reactors), which operated until 1993 (Dry, 1982). In 1993, a slurry reactor that
matches the production of the five ARGE reactors began operation. Following the
success of Sasol I, Sasol II and III came on line in 1980 and 1982, respectively. These
plants are located in Secunda, South Africa. Sasol II and III have all circulating fluid bed
(CFB) reactors (Synthol reactors) but with improved heat exchange and thus they get a
three-fold increase in capacity compared to the synthol reactors at Sasol I. From 1995
to 1999, these second generation CFB reactors (Synthol reactors;16 of them) were
replaced with eight fixed fluid bed (FFB) reactors known as Sasol Advanced Synthol
reactors (Dry, 2002). This was done for economic reasons and although the plant
capacity did not increase the operating cost was projected to decrease by $1/BBL. In
general, these reactors are advantageous due to lower capital costs, higher efficiency,
lower operating costs, and less downtime for maintenance. CFB reactors suffered,
initially, from enormous scale-up problems (mechanical, operational, & catalyst point of
view).

Sasol’s South Africa plants use both low and high temperature FT synthesis. The coal
consumption at Sasol’s three commercial plants is 36 million tons/year that generates,
on average, 1.5 million Nm3/hr of syngas from 97 pressurized Lurgi coal gasifiers (Van
Nierop, et al, 2000). The syngas is converted to "more than 200 fuel and chemical
products at its plants in Sasolburg and Secunda in South Africa as well as at several

76
other plants abroad." (http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/company/cna02527.htm) Its
products; including gasoline, diesel, candle waxes, hard waxes, hydrocarbon lubricants,
methane, phenol and cresol, tar and pitch, ammonia, detergents, etc., are exported to
more than 70 countries around the world. Sasol also supplies 41% of South Africa’s
liquid transportation fuel requirements. The company has developed world-leading
technology for the commercial production of synthetic fuels and chemicals from low-
grade coal as well as the conversion of natural gas to environment-friendly diesel and
chemicals.

In the early 1990’s, two other FT plants came on line. The Mossgas plant which
converts natural gas to FT products using a high temperature process and an iron
catalyst started up in South Africa in 1992 (Dry, 2002). This plant produces 1 million
tonnes/yr of FT products including motor gasoline, distillates, kerosene, alcohols and
LPG. Additionally, Shell commissioned a plant in 1993 in Bintuli, Malaysia using the
Shell Middle Distillate Synthesis process, which is essentially enhanced FT synthesis.
This plant produces 500,000 tonnes/yr (12,000 BPD) of FT products from 100 MMSCFD
of natural gas using a cobalt catalyst (Senden, et al, 1992). The plant produces
automotive fuels, specialty chemicals, and waxes.

Also, Syntroleum is building a 10,000 BPD plant (specialty chemicals and lube oil)
located in the Burrup Peninsula in Northwestern Australia (Haid, et al, 2000). The
engineering began in 1999. Construction started in 2001 and operation is expected to
begin in 2003. The plant will convert natural gas in their gas-to-liquids and specialty
products plant using their proprietary process and a cobalt catalyst.

In early 2000, Sasol studied the feasibility of replacing coal with recently discovered
offshore natural gas. They decided that switching to natural gas would reduce
expenditures in its coal mining operations as well as the high costs of compliance with
environmental regulations associated with coal. Therefore, they are beginning to build a
network of natural gas pipelines, which are expected to deliver gas to their facilities in
2004. Sasol plans to use the natural gas as a supplementary feedstock at Secunda and
as a replacement feedstock for the coal in Sasolburg (http://www.oil-
barrel.com/archives/features_archive/2002/jan-2002/sasol310102.htm and
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/safrica.html).

6.8 Process Performance

In reforming methane about 20% of the carbon is converted to CO2 while for coal this
number is 50% due to the lower hydrogen content of coal (Dry, 2002). Coal gasification
produces a syngas with a H2:CO ratio of about 0.67. For this ratio, the maximum
obtainable conversion of CO to FT products without WGS is 33% (Raje, et al, 1997).
The theoretical max conversion of methane to paraffins is 78% on a LHV basis. The
conversion at the Bintuli plant in Malaysia is about 63% (Senden, et al, 1992). In a slurry
reactor, very small catalyst particles are suspended in a liquid medium allowing effective
heat removal and good temperature control. Sasol’s slurry phase process has a thermal
efficiency of about 60% and a carbon conversion efficiency of about 75% (Lutz, 2001).

The slurry reactor has several advantages over the multitubular design. For example,
the capital cost is 25% less for the same capacity, the pressure difference across the

77
reactor is less and thus the gas compression cost is lower, there is a four fold lower
catalyst consumption rate, and the reactor can operate at higher temperatures and thus
higher conversions (Dry, 1982). One disadvantage is that any poison will poison the
entire amount of catalyst whereas in the fixed tube design only the top portion of the
catalyst will be poisoned.

6.9 Environmental Performance

Compared to conventional fuels, FT fuels contain no sulfur and low aromatics. These
properties along with a high cetane number result in superior combustion characteristics
(Jager, 1998 and Alleman and McCormick, 2003). Tests performed on heavy duty
trucks showed decreases in vehicle emissions of HC, CO, NOx, and PM when using a
FT fuel (Haid, et al, 2000; Lutz, 2001). FT diesel has been tested in a variety of light-
and heavy-duty vehicles and engines. The paper by Alleman and McCormick (2003)
summarizes FT diesel fuel property and emission information found in the literature.
Overall, FT diesel showed a reduction in regulated as well as some unregulated
emissions compared to conventional diesel.

Several life cycle assessments (LCA) have been performed on a variety of transportation
fuels including FT diesel and gasoline but most of the studies have examined only
greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption (General Motors, 2001; Marano
and Cieferno, 2001; and MIT, 2000) with the exception of General Motors. They also
examined five criteria pollutants (VOCs, CO, NOx, PM10, and SOx). These analyses
have examined the emissions and energy consumption from resource extraction to end
use. The results of the studies vary based on the feedstock procurement, technology
conversion, and vehicle assumptions. However, in general, there is not a big advantage
to FT liquids from fossil fuels in terms of energy consumption and green house gas
emissions. This will not be the case for biomass systems. Because of the improved
combustion characteristics of the FT liquids, performing a complete LCA including
criteria pollutants will mostly likely show the overall benefits of FT liquids compared to
conventional transportation fuels.

6.10 Cost

Table 24 gives information about the price of natural gas, gasoline, and diesel fuel, prior
to giving cost information about FT synthesis. Over the years the price of each of these
has fluctuated significantly.

78
Table 22: Price Ranges for Natural Gas, Gasoline, and Diesel
Average U.S. High Low Current price
price (Nov 02 avg)
(1996-2002)
Natural $2.76/Mscf yearly avg monthly avg yearly avg monthly avg $3.64/Mscf
gas (national $4.12/Mscf $8.06/Mscf $1.96/Mscf $2.35/Mscf $3.4/GJ
wellhead) $3.8/GJ $7.4/GJ $1.8/GJ $2.2/GJ
(2001) (Jan 01) (1998) (Jan 02)

Gasoline $1.33/gallon $1.82/gallon $0.97/gallon $1.42/gallon

(includes $14/GJ (HHV); $15/GJ $7/GJ (HHV); $8/GJ (LHV) ($11/GJ, HHV;
taxes) (LHV) (Feb. 1999) $12/GJ, LHV)
(May 2001)
Excluding dist.,
marketing &
taxes:
$0.74/gallon
($5.6/GJ, HHV;
$6.1, LHV)
Diesel $1.25/gallon $1.67/gallon $0.95/gallon $1.42/gallon
(includes $11/GJ (HHV); $12/GJ $6/GJ (HHV); $7/GJ (LHV) ($9.7/GJ, HHV;
taxes) (LHV) (Feb. 1999) $10.5, LHV)
(Oct. 2000)
Excluding dist.,
marketing &
taxes:
$0.75/gallon
($5.1/GJ, HHV,
$5.5, LHV)
Data from EIA:
(1) U.S. Natural Gas Prices and Natural Gas Summary from the Short-Term Energy Outlook
(http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/natural_gas/info_glance/prices.html ) (Note: For natural gas,
$/Mscf is essential equivalent to $/MMBtu)
(2) Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update (http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/gdu/gasdiesel.asp )
Note: Mscf=1,000 standard cubic feet

The following is cost information specific to the existing commercial plants and
studies by others.

(1) The capital cost of the Bintuli, Malaysia plant was about $660 million. (Senden, et al,
1992)
(2) The capital cost of replacing Sasol’s 16 CFB reactors with 8 FFB reactors was $225
million. There was no increase in capacity but the reduction in the operating cost
was projected to be $1/BBL. (Chang, 2000)
(3) Studies by Sasol indicate that a two train GTL plant made up of slurry phase reactors
producing 30,000 BPD of liquid transport fuels can be constructed at a capital cost of
about $25,000/BPD capacity including utilities, offsite facilities, and infrastructure.
(Lutz, 2001 and Vosloo, 2001)
(4) Sasol examined the economics of a grass root plant using slurry phase reactors
feeding 100 MMSCFD of natural gas and producing 10,000 BBL/day (425,000 ton/yr)
of transportation fuel. The capital investment was around $300 million resulting in an
investment of $30,000/daily BBL. (Jager, 1998)
(5) At a natural gas price of $0.50/MMBtu (inexpensive), the feedstock accounts for
$5/BBL of the product price and the operating cost (fixed and variable) is estimated

79
 to contribute an additional $5/BBL to the product price. (Gradassi, 1998; Jager,
1998; Lutz, 2001; and Vosloo, 2001)
(6) Using literature information, an economic analysis was performed for a 50,000 BPD
plant using a feedstock cost of roughly $0.50/MMBtu (inexpensive). The resulting
cost of the FT liquids at an internal rate of return of 15% was $26/BBL ($0.83/gallon).
This means that in order for the natural gas to FT liquids process to be competitive at
this low feedstock cost, the price of crude oil needs to be at least $18/BBL.
(Gradassi, 1998)
(7) FT liquids from both coal and natural gas were examined for a plant that produces
roughly 50,000 BPD of FT liquids. At a natural gas cost of $0.5/MMBtu (inexpensive)
the cost of the FT liquids is $24/BBL ($0.76/gallon) and at $4/MMBtu this cost
increases to $52/BBL ($1.7/gallon). Using Illionois #6 coal, the cost of the FT liquids
is $46/BBL ($1.5/gallon). For a once-through plant that co-produces electricity which
is sold at $0.05/kWh, the cost of the FT is reduced to $35/BBL ($1.1/gallon). (Gray
and Tomlinson, 1997)

The majority of the capital cost, greater than 50%, comes from syngas generation (Dry
2002; Senden, et al, 1992, and Vosloo, 2001). Additionally, the cost of syngas
production from methane is 30% lower than that from coal and it is a more efficient
process (Dry 2002). Any cost reduction in syngas generation will have a large impact on
the economics.

Three studies that have examined the production of FT liquids from biomass are
summarized in Table 25.

80
Table 23: Comparison of Biomass Based Fischer Tropsch Studies

(a), (b) (a), (b) (a), (c)

Study Tijmensen (2000) Mitre (1996) Novem (2000)
Biomass feed 1,920 2,000 1,358
rate
(BD tonne/day)
Biomass cost $2/GJ $2.45/GJ $3/GJ
$38/dry tonne $46/dry tonne $55/dry tonne
Electricity selling $0.057/kWh $0.05/kWh $0.067/kWh
price
Net power (MW) 80 – 100 from biomass 110 - 120 about 150
(150 MW gas turbine)
Other fuels co-fires nat gas in gas none co-fires nat gas in
turbine gas turbine
Raw or finished raw finished finished
products
FT fuels 1,216 - 2,026 BBL/day 1,357 - 1,715 BBL/day 486 - 1,378 BBL/day
produced
Cost year 1999 1993 1999
Price of products $13 - $30/GJ $8 - $14/GJ $9 - $13/GJ
$1.8 - $4.1/gallon $1.1 - $1.9/gallon $1.2 - $1.8/gallon
(without base case = $15 - 16/GJ
distribution costs
and taxes)
Level of detail Very detailed - Gives Somewhat detailed - Some details - Gives
costs of individual Gives costs of major costs of major plant
equipment, operating plant sections, sections, and
costs, and other operating costs, and assumptions used to
economic parameters lists other economic determine installed
and assumptions assumptions costs
Notes: (a) Examined direct & indirect gasifiers and atmospheric and pressurized gasifiers.
(b) Examined both maximum liquids (recycle of unconverted syngas) and once through
with power generated from unconverted syngas.
(c) Only examined once through with combined heat and power.

81
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Bartholomew, C. H. (1991). "Recent Developments in Fischer-Tropsch Catalysis,"

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85
7 OXOSYNTHESIS
7.1 Introduction

The oxysynthesis process is the hydroformylation of olefins with synthesis gas (CO and
H2) and is the principal chemical route to C3-C15 aldehydes that are typically converted
into alcohols, acids, or other derivatives. Worldwide production of oxo-aldehydes and
alcohols was 6.5 million tons per annum in 1997 (Bahrmann and Bach 2000). The
announced planned capacity additions for oxo chemicals in the next 5 years is almost an
additional 1 million tons (Bitzzari et al. 2002).

Hydroformylation is an industrial synthetic route for the conversion of a large number of

olefins and is used to produce solvents, synthetic detergents, flavorings, perfumes and
other healthcare products, and other high value commodity chemicals. Oxo aldehyde
products range from C3-C15. The higher end of this range (C11-C14) is often referred to as
the detergent range because these aldehydes are typically used as intermediates in the
synthesis of alcohols with the desired surfactancy and lack of crystallinity appropriate for
detergents.

The hydroformylation of olefins was discovered in 1938 by Roelen of Ruhrchemie as an

outgrowth of Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS). Oxosynthesis conducted in Germany
was thought to be a heterogeneously catalyzed reaction because of its association with
FTS. Continuous addition of cobalt, however, was required for early oxosynthesis
processes. This prompted additional investigation that identified soluble cobalt carbonyls
as the active catalyst for the reaction making the oxosynthesis process one of the first
significant homogeneously catalyzed industrial processes. Reactants, catalyst, and
products are all present in the same phase, usually as liquids. Today, hydroformylation
processes are the fourth largest commercial use of syngas (Wender 1996).

Cobalt hydrocarbonyl was the first oxosynthesis catalyst commercially used, however, in
the mid-1970’s more active and selective ligand-modified rhodium-based catalysts were
introduced for hydroformylation of lower olefins. For example, n-butanal from propylene
is the highest volume oxo product. It can be converted to n-butanols (used as solvents)
or 2-ethyhexanol, a plasticizer alcohol.

7.2 Technology Description

Oxosynthesis processes are very versatile and are used to commercially produce a wide
range of products. The highest volume oxosynthesis process is the hydroformylation of
propylene to butyraldehyde, which in turn is converted to 2-ethylhexanol, a plasticizer
alcohol used to make flexible PVC. Hydroformylation is a key step in the commercial
production of Vitamin A. Hydroformylation of allyl alcohol is used to commercially
produce butanediol.

7.3 Chemistry

The oxosynthesis process is also known as hydroformylation and involves the reaction
of CO and H2 with olefinic hydrocarbons to form an isomeric mixture of normal- and iso-

86
aldehydes. The basic oxosynthesis reaction is highly exothermic and is
thermodynamically favorable at ambient pressures and low temperatures (Whyman
1985). The reaction proceeds only in the presence of homogeneous metal carbonyl
catalysts.

One of the more important factors in oxosynthesis is the normal to branched isomeric
ratio (n/i). The normal, or straight chain isomer is the desired product.

RCH=CH2 + CO + H2 → RCH2CH2CHO (normal) + R(CH3)CHCHO (branched)

Usually a 1:1 H2:CO syngas mixture is required for oxosynthesis. The overall reaction
rate has first-order dependence on the hydrogen partial pressure and inverse-first order
dependence on CO partial pressure making the reaction rate essentially independent of
total pressure (Pruett 1979). Higher CO partials pressures are usually required,
however, to maintain the stability of the metal carbonyl catalysts. The reaction is also
first order in olefin and metal concentration at the higher CO partial pressures.

The mechanism for the homogeneously catalyzed hydroformylation reaction is a function

of the catalyst system used in the process. However, the general steps in the reaction
paths are similar. The first step is the removal of CO from the catalyst organometallic
complex to give a coordinatively electron deficient species. The olefin attaches to the
vacated d-orbital at this site in the catalyst complex. The double bond in the olefin
attaches to the metal atom yielding an alkyl metal carbonyl complex. The olefin inserts
into the M-H bond. CO then inserts into the complex at the C-M bond followed by
hydrogen insertion at the same point to yield the aldehyde product. A generalized
reaction mechanism taken from Whyman (1985) follows:

M 2 (CO)6 L2 + H 2 ↔ 2HM (CO)3 L ↔ 2HM (CO)2 L + 2CO

RCH =CH 2 + HM (CO) x L ↔ H (RCH =CH 2 )M (CO) x L
H (RCH =CH 2 )M (CO) x L ↔ RCH 2CH 2 M (CO) x L
RCH 2CH 2 M (CO) x L + CO ↔ RCH 2CH 2COM (CO) x L
RCH 2CH 2COM (CO) x L + H 2 → RCH 2CH 2CHO + HM (CO) x L
RCH 2CH 2COM (CO) x L + HM (CO)3 L → RCH 2CH 2CHO + M 2 (CO)3+ x L2

M= metal (Co or Rh) L = ligand (CO, PR3, or PPh3) x = 2 or 3

7.4 Catalysts

Oxosynthesis is a rapid reaction catalyzed by soluble cobalt or rhodium complexes. The

advances made in organometallic chemistry in the 1950’s and 1960’s led to improved
hydroformylation synthesis catalysts with higher thermal stability and greater selectivity.
Three complimentary catalytic hydroformylation processes have been developed and
commercialized. The choice of catalyst depends of the particular starting olefin or
desired product. Phosphine-modified rhodium catalysts are best to produce 2-
ethylhexanol from propylene and syngas. Unmodified cobalt catalysts are versatile
enough to be used for hydroformylation of high carbon number mixed olefins.
Phosphine-modified cobalt catalysts are used for the production of higher, detergent

87
range, alcohols rather than aldehydes. Each of these catalyst systems will be
discussed.

7.4.1 Cobalt Carbonyl

The first hydroformylation catalysts were cobalt carbonyls, the specific active catalyst
was found to be HCo(CO)4 in equilibrium with Co2(CO)8 based on the following reaction:

Co2(CO)8 + H2 ↔ 2 HCo(CO)4

Cobalt metals and most cobalt salts will form cobalt carbonyl under hydroformylation
conditions. The cobalt catalyzes both double bond isomerization and oxosynthesis.
Undesired competing side reactions such as the direct hydrogenation of the starting
olefin and the condensation of product aldehydes to high boiling products are generally
avoided in the Co-catalyzed process.

For cobalt carbonyl catalysts, a n/i ratio of 4:1 can be achieved with catalyst
concentrations of 0.1-1% metal/olefin at 200-300 atm and 110-200°C with a 1:1 H2/CO
ratio. Lower process temperatures and higher CO partial pressures favor the formation
of the straight chain isomer, however, the overall conversion efficiency decreases. The
cobalt carbonyl catalysts are also not very stable at the higher process temperatures.
Catalyst tends to deposit on reactor walls decreasing catalyst activity and reducing
catalyst recovery at elevated process temperatures.

7.4.2 Phosphine-modified Cobalt

In the early 1960’s Shell Oil Company commercialized a new cobalt-based

hydroformylation process. The addition of a phosphine ligand to Co resulted in a
trialkylphosphine-substituted cobalt carbonyl catalyst [HCo(CO)3P(n-C4H9)3]. This new
catalyst had higher selectivity to straight-chain aldehydes (n/i = 7:1) with improved
thermal stability compared to the unsubstituted cobalt catalysts. The improved thermal
stability allows for lower process pressures but higher process temperatures. The Shell
process conditions are 50-100 atm and 160-200°C with H2:CO = 1. Even though this
catalyst has improved thermal stability it has a lower hydroformylation activity than cobalt
carbonyl catalysts, hence the higher reaction temperature. The higher temperatures
also increase the competing olefin hydrogenation reaction.

Shell has optimized this process to produce detergent range alcohols (C11-C14) in a
single step by capitalizing on the conversion of terminal olefins to alcohols by
hydrogenation of the aldehyde hydroformylation products. A high n/i ratio results from
increased isomerization rates concurrently with hydroformylation with the phosphine-
modified cobalt catalyst.

7.4.3 Phosphine-modified Rhodium

Significantly lower operating pressures and temperatures and increased selectivity to

linear products was demonstrated with the introduction of phosphine-modified rhodium
catalysts. In 1976, Union Carbide and Davy Process Technology commercialized the LP
Oxo process based on a triphenylphosphine-modified rhodium catalyst. With a
HRh(CO)(PPh3)3 catalyst the process is maintained at 7-25 atm and 60-120°C and a n/i

88
ratio of 8-12:1 is possible. Low temperatures, high carbon monoxide partial pressure,
and high ligand concentration on the Rh catalysts favors the formation of the straight-
chain isomers. Rh-based catalysts are mainly used for the hydroformylation of lower
olefins (propylene to butyraldehyde, for example) but have limited use for higher olefins
because of thermal instability of the catalyst at the high temperatures required for
distillation to separate product and catalyst. Another important factor when selecting Rh-
based hydroformylation catalysts is the high cost and low availability of rhodium. This
makes catalyst separation and recycle an economically important process consideration.
The high cost of rhodium, however, is offset by lower equipment costs, increased
activity, and higher selectivity and efficiency. The development of water-soluble Rh-
based catalysts avoids some of these issues. Rhone-Poulenc commercialized an oxo
process based on a water-soluble Rh catalyst in 1984 (Billig and Bryant 2000).

7.5 Gas Cleanliness Requirements

Catalyst lifetimes are significantly reduced by poisoning from strong acids, HCN,
organosulfur, H2S, COS, O2, and dienes (Bahrmann and Bach 2000).

7.6 Status/Technology Developers

The LP Oxo™ Low Pressure Oxo Process is the result of a collaboration between Davy
Process Technology (DPT) and Union Carbide Corporation that began in 1971 and is
the world's leading process for the production of oxo alcohols from olefins. It represents
most of the world's oxo alcohols capacity licensed during the last 20 years. A schematic
of the LP Oxo Process is shown in Figure 10.
Off gas
Compressor

Stirred-Tank
Reactor

Demister Separator

Condenser

Stripping
CO/H2 Column
Purify
H2 Reprocessing
Olefin
Purify
Rh complex
and ligand
Offline Catalyst
Reprocessing

Product

Figure 9: Schematic Flow Diagram of the LP Oxo Process

89
The LP Oxo Process involves the reaction of propylene with synthesis gas to produce
butyraldehydes (n/i = 10-20:1), which are in turn converted to 2-ethylhexanol. Normal or
iso-butyraldehydes are also converted to normal and iso-butanols and other derivatives.
Propylene to mixed butyraldehyde efficiencies as high as 97.5% have been
demonstrated at commercial scale. The efficiency is a function of feedstock purity with a
higher purity feed resulting in a higher efficiency due to lower purge losses.

The Shell Process is another commercial oxo synthesis process based on a phosphine -
modified cobalt catalyst to produce alcohols directly from olefins. The conversion of
product oxo aldehydes to alcohols occurs in a single step in the Shell process because
of the high hydrogenation activity of the modified catalyst. This process yields detergent
range alcohols from a range of higher olefins.

A summary of oxochemical producers in the U.S. as cited in the Chemical Economics

Handbook (CEH) (Bitzzari et al. 2002) is presented in Table 26.

90
Table 24: Summary of U.S. Oxo Chemical Producers
Annual Capacity
Plant as of 9/01/02
Company
Location
Oxo Products Catalyst Final Products
3
(tonnes x10 /yr)
BASF Corporation, Freeport, 270 n-butyraldehyde n-butanol 2-ethylhexanol
Chemicals Division TX 30 isobutyraldehyde Rh neopentyl glycol; isobutanol
Industrial Organics
Celanese Ltd. Chemicals Bay City, 45 propionaldehyde n-propanol
Division TX 250 n-butyraldehyde Rh n-butanol
27 iosbutyraldehyde isobutanol
Dow Chemical Taft, LA 272 n-butyraldehyde Rh n-butanol
15 isobutyraldehyde iso-butanol
Dow Chemical Texas 100 propionaldehyde n-propanol; propionic acid
City, TX 45 valeraldehyde valeric acid; amyl alcohol
335 n-butyraldehyde Rh n-butanol; 2-ethylhexanol; 2-ethylhexanoic
acid
33 isobutyraldehyde isobutanol
Eastman Chemical Longview, 118 propionaldehyde n-propanol; propionic acid
Company, Eastman TX 424 n-butyraldehyde n-butanol; 2-ethylhexanol, 2-ethylheanoic
Division Rh acid; n-butyric acid; methyl amyl ketone
neopentyl glycol; methyl isoamyl ketone;
184 isobutyraldehyde isobutyl acetate
ExxonMobil Chemical Baton 408 Alcohols:
Company Rouge, LA C6-C13 branched Co phthalate and trimellitate plasticizers
C9-C11 linear
Shell Chemical Company Geismar, 340 C9-C15 linear
Co-PR3 Neodol® alcohols
LA alcohols
Sterling Chemicals, Inc. Texas 102 C7, C9, C11 linear
Co Phthalate plasticizers
City, TX alcohols
Sunoco, Inc. Pasadena, 140 n-butyraldehyde 2-ethylhexanol
Rh
TX 12 isobutyraldehyde sold without conversion
From: (Bitzzari et al. 2002)

91
7.7 Cost

The cost of oxo products are dependent on the initial costs of the olefin feedstocks,
primarily propylene and ethylene. The oxo aldeyhdes are effectively intermediates for
the production of alcohols, acids and other chemical products. The market price for
these products also varies with the cost of the feedstocks and intermediates. Chemical
Economics Handbook (Bitzzari et al. 2002) contains estimated costs for a variety of oxo
end products. The costs for the major products listed in Table 1 are presented in Table
2. Although not shown in Table 2, the highest priced oxo chemical in the CEH list is
pelargonic acid ($1.33/lb). The majority of the oxo products listed in CEH fall in the
range of 50-70¢/lb.

Table 25: U.S. Prices for Oxo Chemicals

Product 2002 Price (¢/lb)
n-butyraldehyde 52
n-butanol 55
2-ethylhexanol 63
2-ethyl hexanoic acid 68
isobutyraldehyde 52
Isobutanol 50
n-propanol 55
propionic acid 44
amyl alcohol 63
From: (Bitzzari et al. 2002)

92
7.8 References

Bahrmann, H., and Bach, H. (2000). "Oxo Synthesis." Ullman's Encyclopedia of

Industrial Chemistry, Wiley - VCH Verlag GmbH & Co.

Billig, E., and Bryant, D. R. (2000). "Oxo Process." Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of

Chemical Technology, John Wiley & Sons.

Bitzzari, S. N., Gubler, R., and Kishi, A. (2002). "Oxo Chemicals." Chemical Economics
Handbook, SRI International, 1-121. Report number 682.7000.

Pruett, R. L. (1979). "Hydroformylation." Advances in Organometallic Chemistry, 17, 1-

60.

Wender, I. (1996). "Reactions of synthesis gas." Fuel Processing Technology, 48(3),

189-297.

Whyman, R. (1985). "Industrial Applications of Homogeneous Catalysts." Selected

Developments in Catalysis, J. R. Jennings, ed., Blackwell Scientific Publications,
Oxford, 128.

93
8 ISOSYNTHESIS
8.1 Introduction

The isosynthesis reaction is one that converts syngas over a thorium or zirconium-based
catalyst at relatively extreme conditions to isobutene and isobutane. This reaction has
often been considered a variation of Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis, however, there are
major differences between the two synthetic processes (Feng et al. 1994). Isosynthesis
is selective to i-C4 hydrocarbons whereas FTS forms a range of olefins according to the
ASF distribution. Only trace amounts of oxygenates (water, methanol, isobutanol, DME,
etc.) are formed under isosynthesis reaction conditions. Selective formation of branched
hydrocarbons also occurs in isosynthesis.

The isosynthesis reaction was first studied by Pilcher and Ziesecke in the early 1940’s
using ThO2-based catalysts and severe reaction conditions – 150-1000 atm and 450°C
(Sofianos 1992). The goal was to optimize isobutane production for use in high-octane
gasoline. The development of the petroleum industry led to waning interest in
commercial isosynthesis processes and since these initial studies, isosynthesis has not
received a lot of industrial attention.

Demand for MTBE as a gasoline additive increased in the early 1990’s to the point that
supply shortages of petrochemical isobutene were becoming a concern (Sofianos 1992).
This led to renewed interest in the isosynthesis reaction to convert syngas to branched
hydrocarbons, particularly isobutene, which is a reactant in the synthesis of MTBE.
Catalyst development has been focused on ZrO2-based catalysts for increased activity
and selectivity to i-C4 products.

8.2 Technology Description

No commercial isosynthesis processes have been developed. Most laboratory studies

have been conducted in gas-solid fixed bed reactors. Slurry reactors are also being
investigated for isosynthesis, in fact, selectivities to C4 products are reported to be higher
in slurry reactors compared to fixed bed reactors (Erkey et al. 1995).

There is always a large amount of CO2 produced in the isosynthesis reaction, likely by
the reaction of H2O and CO in the water-gas shift (Su et al. 2000a; Su et al. 2000b).
CO2 recycle and reuse should be investigated to improve conversion efficiency to
products.

8.3 Chemistry

Isosynthesis conditions are optimized for isobutene/isobutane production. At lower

temperatures, alcohols and other oxygentates are formed. At higher temperatures,
methane and aromatics are formed.

The isosynthesis mechanism is related to that of higher alcohol synthesis. It involves 2

chain growth mechanisms - a step-wise CO insertion reaction and a condensation
reaction mechanism involving surface adsorbed oxygenates. The precursor to the

94
oxygenate products has been identified as a surface adsorbed methoxide species
(Maruya et al. 1996). The oxygenates, alcohols and ethers, are more than likely the
primary reaction products that undergo dehydration and hydrogenation to form the iso-
alkenes and branched alkanes. These two competing chain growth mechanisms result
in a discontinuity in the ASF distribution at C4 that explains the relatively high selectivity
of the isosynthesis reaction to C4 products.

8.4 Catalysts

The first catalysts used by Pilcher and Ziesecke were ThO2-based. Unpromoted thoria
catalysts have demonstrated 46% CO conversion at 150 atm and 450°C but only 10%
isobutene in the C4 fraction that is mostly isobutane (Sofianos 1992). DME was the main
product at higher pressures. Thorium-based catalysts are good alcohol dehydration
catalysts and in turn, are the most active isosynthesis catalysts. They have long
lifetimes because they can be regenerated by oxidizing the accumulated coke that
deposits on the surface and they are not poisoned by sulfur. Unfortunately, they are
radioactive precluding their commercial use.

Zirconium-based catalysts also have high activity for isosynthesis. Unpromoted

zirconium catatalysts have demonstrated 32% CO conversion at 150 atm and 450°C
with much higher selectivity to isobutene (Sofianos 1992) compared to the thorium-
based catalysts. The overall activity of ZrO2-based catalysts for isosynthesis is lower
than ThO2-based catalysts.

Various promoters have been investigated to improve the activity and selectivity of ThO2
and ZrO2 catalysts (Jackson and Ekerdt 1990a; Jackson and Ekerdt 1990b). The most
active isosynthesis catalyst is 20% Al2O3/ThO2. Other promoters such as Zn, Cr and
alkali metals have also been tested. The addition of alkali metals to zirconium catalysts
had a negative effect on catalyst performance (Jackson and Ekerdt 1990b; Li et al.
2001a).

Doped zirconium-based catalysts posses oxygen vacancies in the oxide lattice. The
most active catalysts tend to have maximum ionic conductivity suggesting that vacancies
in the crystal lattice play an important role in the isosynthesis reaction (Li et al. 2001b; Li
et al. 2002). These oxygen vacancy sites are required for methoxide formation on the
catalyst surface that contributes to the condensation reaction (Jackson and Ekerdt
1990a).

The selectivity of the isosynthesis reaction depends on the nature of the active catalyst
sites, including oxygen vacancies on the surface, and the number of acidic and basic
sites. The balance between acidic and basic catalyst sites dictates overall activity and
selectivity (Li et al. 2002). Enhancing the number of acidic sites on the ZrO2 catalyst
increased activity and selectivity to linear C4 hydrocarbons. Increasing the number of
basic sites on the catalyst increased the yield of iso-C4 hydrocarbons (Li et al. 2001b).
The acidic catalyst sites are thought to promote condensation and dehydration reactions.
The basic sites are known to catalyze CO insertion reactions. The activity of promoted
isosynthesis catalyst systems is related to the acid/base ratio, which can be altered and
controlled by varying the preparation procedure for mixed oxide catalysts (Feng et al.
1995; Feng et al. 1994).

95
8.5 Gas Cleanliness Requirements

Thoria catalysts are not poisoned by sulfur and have high resistance to other poisons as
well.

8.6 Status/Technology Developers

The isosynthesis process is not currently commercially practiced.

8.7 References

Erkey, C., Wang, J. H., Postula, W., Feng, Z. T., Philip, C. V., Akgerman, A., and
Anthony, R. G. (1995). "Isobutylene Production from Synthesis Gas over Zirconia
in a Slurry Reactor." Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 34(4), 1021-
1026.

Feng, Z. T., Postula, W. S., Akgerman, A., and Anthony, R. G. (1995). "Characterization
of Zirconia-Based Catalysts Prepared by Precipitation, Calcination, and Modified
Sol-Gel Methods." Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 34(1), 78-82.

Feng, Z. T., Postula, W. S., Erkey, C., Philip, C. V., Akgerman, A., and Anthong, R. G.
(1994). "Selective Formation of Isobutane and Isobutene from Synthesis Gas
over Zirconia Catalysts Prepared by a Modified Sol-Gel Method." Journal of
Catalysis, 148(1), 84-90.

Jackson, N. B., and Ekerdt, J. G. (1990a). "Isotope Studies of the Effect of Acid Sites on
the Reactions of C-3 Intermediates During Isosynthesis over Zirconium Dioxide
and Modified Zirconium Dioxide." Journal of Catalysis, 126(1), 46-56.

Jackson, N. B., and Ekerdt, J. G. (1990b). "The Surface Characteristics Required for
Isosynthesis over Zirconium Dioxide and Modified Zirconium Dioxide." Journal of
Catalysis, 126(1), 31-45.

Li, Y. W., He, D. H., Cheng, Z. X., Su, C. L., Li, J. R., and Zhu, Q. M. (2001a). "Effect of
calcium salts on isosynthesis over ZrO2 catalysts." Journal of Molecular
Catalysis a-Chemical, 175(1-2), 267-275.

Li, Y. W., He, D. H., Yuan, Y. B., Cheng, Z. X., and Zhu, Q. M. (2001b). "Selective
formation of isobutene from CO hydrogenation over zirconium dioxide based
catalysts." Energy & Fuels, 15(6), 1434-1440.

Li, Y. W., He, D. H., Yuan, Y. B., Cheng, Z. X., and Zhu, Q. M. (2002). "Influence of
acidic and basic properties of ZrO2 based catalysts on isosynthesis." Fuel,
81(11-12), 1611-1617.

96
Maruya, K., Takasawa, A., Haraoka, T., Domen, K., and Onishi, T. (1996). "Role of
methoxide species in isobutene formation from CO and H- 2 over oxide catalysts
- Methoxide species in isobutene formation." Journal of Molecular Catalysis a-
Chemical, 112(1), 143-151.

Sofianos, A. (1992). "Production of Branched-Chain Hydrocarbons Via Isosynthesis."

Catalysis Today, 15(1), 149-175.

Su, C. L., He, D. H., Li, J. R., Chen, Z. X., and Zhu, Q. M. (2000a). "Influences of
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