Issue 17/2018 - Important progress in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis research

Recently, the team of Professor Li Xingang from the School of Chemical Engineering and Technology of Tianjin University and Professor Tsubaki Fanli of the National University of Toyama in Japan have achieved breakthrough research results
in the field of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.

The research team designed and developed a cobalt/silica catalyst with a "watermelon seed" structure, which precisely controls the cobalt grain size and prevents the agglomeration and sintering
of cobalt during the reaction through the structural confinement effect.
They found that the selectivity of diesel fraction products is as high as 60% when the cobalt grain size is about 7 nm, and the selectivity of gasoline fraction products can reach more than 60% when the cobalt grain size is about 11 nm, which is an important breakthrough
in the field of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis research.
At the same time, the results also break the traditional understanding and draw new conclusions: catalysts with larger cobalt grain sizes will obtain heavier Fischer-Tropsch synthetic products, such as diesel and paraffin
.

At present, the international cobalt price remains high, and the successful development of small-size cobalt catalysts will reduce the amount of cobalt in the catalyst, save a lot of cobalt resources, and greatly reduce industrial costs
.