Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography for the analysis of Fischer–Tropsch oil products

The Fischer–Tropsch (FT) process involves a series of catalysed reactions of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, originating from coal, natural gas or biomass, leading to a variety of synthetic chemicals and fuels. The benefits of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC) compared to one-dimensional GC (1D-GC) for the detailed investigation of the oil products of low and high temperature FT processes are presented. GC × GC provides more accurate quantitative data to construct Anderson–Schultz–Flory (ASF) selectivity models that correlate the FT product distribution with reaction variables. On the other hand, the high peak capacity and sensitivity of GC × GC allow the detailed study of components present at trace level. Analyses of the aromatic and oxygenated fractions of a high temperature FT (HT-FT) process are presented. GC × GC data have been used to optimise or tune the HT-FT process by using a lab-scale micro-FT-reactor.