Fischer-Tropsch

Basics

The Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process was first developed in Germany in the 1920's. It was used in Germany during WWII to make liquid fuels from coal. The FT process requires a feed stream consisting largely of carbon monoxide and hydrogen (also known as "syngas"). Thus, gasification is the first step inproducing fuels from biomass (bio-to-liquid, BTL). The FT process converts the feed gas into liquid organic compounds, carbon dioxide and water. The conversion takes place in the presence of a catalyst, usually iron (magnetite) or cobalt. The temperature, pressure and catalyst determine whether a light or heavy syncrude is produced. For example, at 330°C mostly gasoline and olefins are produced, whereas at 180 to 250°C mostly diesel and waxes are produced.

Small-scale Gas-To-Liquids: Proof of Principle

This process can be done on the small scale, as shown in this video:

Internal Links

• Fischer-Tropsch Fuel Yield Per Ton of Biomass
• Gasifier
• Compressed Fuel Gas
• Pyrolysis Oil
• AllPowerLabs

External Links

• Fischer-Tropsch The Wikipedia Page on Fischer-Tropsch
• All Power Labs - open source gasifiers. They also have a **
• Youtube channel
• A 2023 Report Titled “ DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) 2023 Project Peer Review Agricultural and Woody Biomass to Diesel Fuel with FT Intermediate”
  • Mentions Co-Processing FT Wax and Vacuum Gas Oil / Heavy Vacuum Gas Oil
• A 2024 Paper Titled “ Co-processing of BTL Fischer-Tropsch wax and heavy vacuum gas oil”