A system for activating Fischer-Tropsch catalyst comprising a reactor having a reactor outlet for overhead gas and operable under suitable conditions whereby a catalyst in a volume of liquid carrier comprising Fischer-Tropsch diesel, hydrocracking recycle oil, or a combination thereof may be activated in the presence of an activation gas; a condenser comprising an inlet fluidly connected to the reactor outlet for overhead gas and comprising a condenser outlet for condensed liquids; and a separation unit comprising an inlet fluidly connected to the condenser outlet and a separator outlet for a stream comprising primarily Fischer-Tropsch diesel; and a recycle line fluidly connecting the separator outlet, a hydrocracking unit, or both to the reactor, whereby Fischer-Tropsch diesel recovered from the reactor overhead gas, hydrocracking recycle oil, or a combination thereof may serve as liquid carrier for catalyst in the reactor. A method for activating Fischer-Tropsch catalyst is also provided.

The invention relates to a method for start-up and operation of a Fischer-Tropsch reactor comprising the steps of: (a) providing a reactor with a fixed bed of reduced Fischer-Tropsch catalyst that comprises cobalt as catalytically active metal; (b) supplying a gaseous feed stream comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen to the reactor, wherein the gaseous feed stream initially comprises a nitrogen-containing compound other than molecular nitrogen in an initial concentration in the range of from 0.1 to 50 ppmv based on the volume of the gaseous feed stream; (c) converting carbon monoxide and hydrogen supplied with the gaseous feed stream to the reactor into hydrocarbons at an initial reaction temperature, wherein the initial reaction temperature is set at a value of at least 200 C. and hydrocarbons are produced at a first yield; (d) maintaining the initial reaction temperature at the set value and maintaining the first yield by decreasing the concentration of the nitrogen-containing compound in the gaseous feed stream supplied to the reactor; (e) optionally increasing the reaction temperature after the concentration of the nitrogen-containing compound in the gaseous feed stream has decreased to a value below 100 ppbv.

This invention relates to a method for the preparation of a hydrocarbon synthesis catalyst material, in the form of a hydrocarbon synthesis catalyst precursor and/or catalyst, preferably, a Fischer Tropsch synthesis catalyst precursor and/or catalyst. The invention also extends to the use of a catalyst precursor and/or catalyst prepared by the method according to the invention in a hydrocarbon synthesis process, preferably, a Fischer Tropsch synthesis process. According to this invention, a method for the preparation of a hydrocarbon synthesis catalyst material includes the steps of treating Fe(II) carboxylate in solution with an oxidizing agent to convert it to Fe(III) carboxylate in solution under conditions which ensure that such oxidation does not take place simultaneously with any dissolution of Fe(0); and hydrolyzing the Fe(III) carboxylate solution resulting from step (iii) and precipitating one or more Fe(III) hydrolysis products.

The present invention provides an iron-carbide/silica composite catalyst that is highly reactive to a Fischer-Tropsch synthesis by firstly forming an iron-silicate structure having large specific surface area and well-developed pores through a hydrothermal reaction of an iron salt with a silica particle having a nanostructure, and then activating the iron-silicate structure in a high temperature carbon monoxide atmosphere. When using the iron-carbide/silica composite catalyst according to the present invention in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reaction, it is possible to effectively prepare liquid hydrocarbon with a high CO conversion rate and selectivity.

The present disclosure relates to catalyst support materials and cobalt catalyst materials including such support materials, and their uses in Fischer-Tropsch processes. In certain aspects, a catalyst support material includes alumina, silicon oxide and titanium dioxide. In other aspects, a catalyst material includes a catalyst support material as described herein, with a catalytic metal such as cobalt disposed thereon.

A process for production of middle distillate fraction from gas-to-liquid (GTL) conversion comprising providing a feed stream comprising natural gas and separating a condensate from the feed stream to produce a condensate stream and a feed stream; processing the feed stream via a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reaction to generate a long chain hydrocarbon product stream; processing the product stream via a heavy paraffinic conversion in order to produce a FT product stream; treating the condensate stream with a desulfurization step to generate a condensate product stream; combining the FT product stream with the condensate product stream to provide a distillate feed stream; and performing a distillation step on the distillation feed stream, wherein the processing steps occur substantially concurrently with the treating step and wherein distillation provides for isolation of middle distillate products. Middle distillate fractions and fuel oils/fuel oil blends obtained according to the process are also provided.

The invention relates to a catalyst suitable for use in the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide-containing gas, said catalyst comprising spinel phase of the formula [Fe.sup.2+(Fe.sup.3+.sub.yAl.sup.3+.sub.1-y).sub.2O.sub.4]. Processes for preparing the catalyst and processes for the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide-containing gas in the presence of the catalyst are also disclosed.

The present disclosure relates generally to processes for initiating Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. In particular, the application concerns a process for the initiation of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, the process comprising: (i) providing the reaction zone with a temperature of no more than 140 C.; then (ii) purging the reaction zone with a purge gas comprising N.sub.2 at a pressure in the range of 2 barg to 10 barg; then (iii) contacting the catalyst in the reaction zone with a gaseous reaction mixture comprising H.sub.2 and CO in a ratio of between 1:1 and 3:1 at a pressure of no more than 20 barg and at a temperature of no more than 140 C.; then (iv) heating the reaction zone to a temperature of at least 200 C.; and (v) pressurizing the reaction zone to a pressure in the range of 30 barg and 45 barg.

A method of forming a syngas for producing liquid hydrocarbons, the method comprising: providing a feed gas comprising carbon dioxide, hydrogen and compounds of sulfur; providing a carbon-monoxide-enriched feed gas by passing the feed gas to a reverse-water-gas-shift reaction chamber to convert a portion of the carbon dioxide and a portion of the hydrogen to carbon monoxide and water, and to convert at least a portion of the compounds of sulfur to hydrogen sulfide; passing the carbon-monoxide-enriched feed gas to a carbon-dioxide-removal unit to provide the syngas and a carbon-dioxide-enriched stream, the carbon-dioxide-enriched stream comprising carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide; providing a purified carbon-dioxide stream by passing the carbon-dioxide-enriched stream to a hydrogen-sulfide-removal unit to remove hydrogen sulfide from the carbon-dioxide-enriched stream; and recycling the purified carbon-dioxide stream into the feed gas.

A process for facilitating the unloading of a fixed bed of cobalt/metal oxide catalyst particles from a reactor tube by (i) feeding a gas comprising 10 to 30 (vol/vol) percent of oxygen to the reactor tube with a GHSV for oxygen of 0.5 to 50 Nl/l/hr, and (ii) removing the catalyst particles from the reactor tube. In the fixed bed of catalyst particles to which the oxygen comprising gas is fed in step (i) at most 10 mole % of the element cobalt is present in Co3O4 and/or CoO, calculated on the total amount of moles of cobalt in the catalyst particles.