Monolithic, microchannel and carbon nanofibers/carbon felt reactors for syngas conversion by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis

•Monolithic structures, microchannel reactors and carbon nanofibers on carbon felt have been studied.•All reactors provide good FT activity, selectivity and stability.•All reactors have good mass and heat transfer properties.•The reactors can be operated without significant internal diffusion limitation.

The present contribution summarizes work carried out on different microstructured reactors in the Catalysis Group at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology during the last years. The work has involved co-operation with industry (Statoil) as well as foreign groups (University of Karlsruhe). The experimental work covers monolithic reactors made of different materials, microchannel reactors and some recent work using carbon nanofibers/carbon felt (CNF/CF). The summary is focused on syngas conversion by the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, but references to work on methanol and DME production in microreactors are also included. Supported Co-based catalysts are used for the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and the results are compared with experiments carried out in a standard fixed-bed reactor using the same type of catalysts. A monolithic/microreactor/catalyst concept for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis offers several possible advantages compared to other Fischer-Tropsch reactors and could be of interest for offshore installations and distributed small scale production.

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