Application of Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis in Biomass to Liquid Conversion

Catalysts

Jin Hu²  Fei Yu¹ 

[1] Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mississippi State University, MS 39762, USA;

关键词: biomass to liquid;    Fischer–Tropsch;    biomass;    bioenergy;    biofuel;    bio-syngas;    gasification;    gas cleaning;    bi-functional catalyst;    carbon utilization;   

DOI  :  10.3390/catal2020303

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Fischer–Tropsch synthesis is a set of catalytic processes that can be used to produce fuels and chemicals from synthesis gas (mixture of CO and H₂), which can be derived from natural gas, coal, or biomass. Biomass to Liquid via Fischer–Tropsch (BTL-FT) synthesis is gaining increasing interests from academia and industry because of its ability to produce carbon neutral and environmentally friendly clean fuels; such kinds of fuels can help to meet the globally increasing energy demand and to meet the stricter environmental regulations in the future. In the BTL-FT process, biomass, such as woodchips and straw stalk, is firstly converted into biomass-derived syngas (bio-syngas) by gasification. Then, a cleaning process is applied to remove impurities from the bio-syngas to produce clean bio-syngas which meets the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis requirements. Cleaned bio-syngas is then conducted into a Fischer–Tropsch catalytic reactor to produce green gasoline, diesel and other clean biofuels. This review will analyze the three main steps of BTL-FT process, and discuss the issues related to biomass gasification, bio-syngas cleaning methods and conversion of bio-syngas into liquid hydrocarbons via Fischer–Tropsch synthesis. Some features in regard to increasing carbon utilization, enhancing catalyst activity, maximizing selectivity and avoiding catalyst deactivation in bio-syngas conversion process are also discussed.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.