Sasol Technology Proprietary Limited

Sasol Technology (pty) Limited

Hermanus Gerhardus Nel

André Peter Steynberg

Marshall Stephen Lee

Evert Phillippus Kleynhans

Jako Louw

Alex Philip Vogel

Andre Peter Steynberg

A method of operating a slurry phase apparatus includes feeding one or more gaseous reactants into a slurry body of solid particulate material suspended in a suspension liquid contained inside a vessel. The one or more gaseous reactants are fed into the slurry body through a gas distributor having downward facing gas outlets and are fed towards a fluid impermeable partition spanning across the vessel below the gas distributor. The partition divides the vessel into a slurry volume above the partition and a bottom volume below the partition. A differential pressure is maintained over the partition between predefined limits by manipulating or allowing changes in the pressure in the bottom volume by employing a pressure transfer passage establishing flow or pressure communication between the bottom volume and a head space above the slurry body.

Slurry phase apparatus

A process () to produce Fischer-Tropsch products includes feeding feed synthesis gas () with a substantially constant target feed synthesis gas H/CO ratio to a Fischer-Tropsch synthesis stage (). A portion of the feed synthesis gas () is converted to Fischer-Tropsch products in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis stage (). The Fischer-Tropsch products () from the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis stage () are withdrawn. A Fischer-Tropsch synthesis stage tail gas () which includes unconverted Hand CO is obtained. The operating conditions of the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis stage () are manipulated to achieve a substantially constant target tail gas H/CO ratio, with the target tail gas H/CO ratio being substantially different from the target feed synthesis gas H/CO ratio.

Fischer-tropsch synthesis

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Parys, South Africa

Hermanus Gerhardus Nel