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RESEARCH PRODUCT

The role of nano-sized iron particles in slurry phase Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

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Abstract The slurry phase Fischer–Tropsch (F–T) activity of three α-Fe2O3-based materials, two unsupported nano-sized, NANOCAT (3 nm) and BASF (20–80 nm), and a supported micron-sized (32.5 μm ) UCI, are compared with respect to total hydrocarbon production from synthesis gas (H2/CO∼2/1) at 513 K. Low temperature Mossbauer spectra of the quenched slurry samples after 120 h on-line show that all three catalysts are essentially a mixture of oxide and carbide phases with magnetite (Fe3O4) being the dominant phase. TEM images of the quenched samples reveal unexpected particle characteristics. While both unsupported nano-sized materials essentially avoid expected agglomeration, the micron-sized UCI transforms into nano-sized material. These results suggest a crucial role of nano Fe during F–T synthesis.