Sasol Technology Proprietary Limited

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Sasol Technology (pty) Limited

Engelhard De Meern B.v.

Sastech (proprietary) Limited

Peter Jacobus Van Berge

Jan Van De Loosdrecht

Jacobus Lucas Visagie

Sean Barradas

Andre Peter Steynberg

Antonie Christoffel Vosloo

Elsie Adriana Caricato

Alex Philip Vogel

Hans Marcel Veltman

Rafael Luis Espinoza

Tjaart Jurgens Van Der Walt

Johan Coenraad Sollie

Bulelani Humphrey Sigwebela

Sylvia Sollie-Breur, Legal Representative

Franciscus Hermanus Bolder

A particulate pre-reduction cobalt supported Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalyst precursor which comprises a catalyst support impregnated with cobalt, is treated with a pure hydrogen reducing gas, at a first specific feed gas space velocity, SV1, and at a first heating rate, HR1, to obtain a partially reduced precursor. The support contains reducible cobalt oxide in a calcined state and having a formula-unit in which each mole of cobalt atoms is associated with more than 4/3 moles of oxygen atoms and displaying a reducible cobalt oxide specific surface area at least equal to that of CoOspinel. The partially reduced precursor is then treated with a pure hydrogen reducing gas, at a second specific feed gas space velocity, SV2, and at a second heating rate, HR2, to obtain an activated supported Fischer-Tropsch catalyst, with SV2&#x2266;SV1 and/or HR2&#x2267;HR1; however, when SV2=SV1, HR2&#x2260;HR1 and when HR2=HR1, SV2&#x2260;SV1.

Process for activating cobalt catalysts

A process for preparing a cobalt based catalyst precursor includes in a first support impregnation/drying/calcination stage, impregnating a particulate porous catalyst support with a cobalt salt, partially drying the impregnated support, and calcining the partially dried impregnated support to obtain a calcined material. The calcined material is partially reduced. Thereafter, in a second support impregnation/drying/calcination stage, the partially reduced material is impregnated with a cobalt salt, partially dried and calcined, to obtain the cobalt based catalyst precursor.

Cobalt catalysts

A process for preparing a cobalt-based Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalyst includes introducing a soluble modifying component precursor of the formula Mc(OR), where Mc is a modifying component selected from the group comprising Si, Ti, Cu, Zn, Zr, Mn, Ba, Ni, Na, K, Ca, Sn, Cr, Fe, Li, Tl, Sr, Ga, Sb, V, Hf, Th, Ce, Ge, U, Nb, Ta, W or La, R is an alkyl or acyl group, and x is an integer having a value of from 1 to 5, onto and/or into a cobalt-based Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalyst precursor, which comprises a porous pre-shaped catalyst support supporting cobalt in an oxidized form. The resultant modified cobalt-based Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalyst precursor is reduced to obtain a cobalt-based Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalyst.

Catalysts

A process for preparing and using a cobalt slurry phase Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalyst includes introducing a modifying component Mc into a catalyst support precursor, followed by shaping and calcination, to obtain a catalyst support. The catalyst support is impregnated with an aqueous solution of a cobalt salt, to form an impregnated support which is partially dried and calcined, to obtain a catalyst precursor. The catalyst precursor is reduced to form a cobalt slurry phase Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalyst. A synthesis gas is contacted with this catalyst in a slurry phase Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reaction at elevated temperature and elevated pressure, and a clean wax product that contains less than 50 mass ppm submicron particulates of cobalt is obtained.

Production of fischer-tropsch synthesis produced wax

A process for preparing a cobalt based catalyst precursor includes, in a support impregnation stage, impregnating a coated catalyst support comprising porous catalyst support particles coated with carbon, with a cobalt salt, and partially drying the impregnated support. Thereafter, in a calcination stage, the partially dried impregnated support is calcined, to obtain the cobalt based catalyst precursor. The cobalt based catalyst precursor can then, in a reduction stage, be reduced to obtain a cobalt based Fischer-Tropsch catalyst.

A method of treating an untreated catalyst support includes contacting an untreated catalyst support which is partially soluble in an aqueous acid and/or a neutral aqueous solution with a modifying component precursor of the formula Me(OR)where Me is a modifying component selected from Si, Zr, Ti, Cu, Zn, Mn, Ba, Co, Ni, Na, K, Ca, Sn, Cr, Fe, Li, TI, Mg, Sr, Ga, Sb, V, Hf, Th, Ce, Ge, U, Nb, Ta, and W, R is an alkyl or acyl group, and x is an integer having a value of from 1 to 5. The modifying component is thereby introduced onto and/or into the catalyst support to form a protected modified catalyst support which is less soluble in the aqueous acid and/or the neutral aqueous solution. No calcination of the protected modified catalyst support is effected.

Method of treating an untreated catalyst support, and forming a catalyst precursor and catalyst from the treated support

A cobalt based Fischer-Tropsch catalyst which including a porous catalyst support and metallic cobalt crystallites within the support. The catalyst has a proportion of its cobalt in reducible form, with this proportion being expressible as &OHgr; mass %, based on the total pre-reduction catalyst mass. The catalyst also has, when freshly reduced, a mono-modal Gaussian metallic cobalt crystallite size distribution, a metallic cobalt surface area, in m per gram of catalyst, of from 0.14 &OHgr; to 1.03 &OHgr;, and a catalyst geometry that ensures a stabilized Fischer-Tropsch synthesis effectiveness factor of 0.9 or greater.

A cobalt catalyst precursor includes a catalyst support impregnated with cobalt. All reducible cobalt is present in the support as supported cobalt oxide of formula-unit CoOaHb, where a&gE;1,7 and b&gE;0. A process for preparing a cobalt catalyst precursor, and a process for preparing a cobalt catalyst are also provided.

This invention relates to methods of minimizing catalyst degradation during the handling of a catalyst used in a slurry phase reactor. The methods include catalyst handling steps such as catalyst loading into a slurry phase reactor, slurry phase reactor start-up, slurry phase reactor shut-down, and slurry phase reactor unloading when catalyst reloading is envisaged. In the method of loading the slurry phase reactor, a slurry of wax and catalyst is formed in a loading vessel. Clean molten wax is formed in the reactor, syngas is pumped through the clean molten wax in the reactor, and the slurry from the loading vessel is transferred to the reactor.

Handling of a catalyst

A method of treating a catalyst support comprises introducing onto and/or into an untreated catalyst support which is partially soluble in an aqueous acid solution and/or a neutral aqueous solution, Si, Zr, Cu, Zn, Mn, Ba, Co, Ni and/or La as a modifying component. The modifying component is capable, when present in and/or on the catalyst support, of suppressing the solubility of the catalyst support in the aqueous acid solution and/or the neutral aqueous solution. A protected modified catalyst support which is less soluble or more inert in the aqueous acid solution and/or the neutral aqueous solution, than the untreated catalyst support, is thus formed. A method of forming a catalyst from the modified catalyst support is also provided.

Process for producing hydrocarbons from a synthesis gas, and catalysts therefor

A process for producing liquid and, optionally, gaseous products from gaseous reactants feeds ( ), at a low level, gaseous reactants into a slurry bed of solid catalyst particles ( ) suspended in a suspension liquid. The gaseous reactants are allowed to react as they pass upwardly through the slurry bed ( ), hereby to form liquid and, optionally, gaseous products. The reaction is catalyzed by the catalyst particles. Liquid product is separated from the catalyst particles by passing, in a filtration zone ( ) within the slurry bed, liquid product through a filtering medium having a plurality of openings through which the liquid passes. The openings have a controlling dimension of x microns. The proportion of catalyst particles, which have a particle size smaller than x microns, in the slurry bed is less than 18% by volume based on the total volume of the catalyst in the slurry bed.

Process for producing liquid and, optionally, gaseous products from gaseous reactants

A process for preparing a catalyst precursor including subjecting, in an initial treatment stage, a slurry of a catalyst support, an active catalyst component precursor, and water, to treatment at elevated temperature and at sub-atmospheric pressure, to impregnate the support with the precursor and to dry the impregnated support partially. The initial treatment stage does not continue beyond a point where the impregnated carrier has a LOI which is less than 1.2 LOI . In a subsequent treatment stage, the partially dried impregnated support is subjected to more vigorous drying at elevated temperature and at sub-atmospheric pressure to obtain a dried impregnated carrier, which is calcined to obtain the catalyst precursor. The catalyst precursor is reduced, to obtain a catalyst.

Impregnation process for catalysts

To prepare a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst, a slurry comprising a particular alumina carrier, water and an active component selected from the group consisting in cobalt (Co), iron (Fe) and mixtures thereof, is subjected to a sub-atmospheric pressure environment. The alumina carrier is thereby impregnated by the active component. The impregnated carrier is dried under a sub-atmospheric pressure environment. The dried impregnated carrier is calcined, thereby to obtain the Fischer-Tropsch catalyst.

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Sasolburg, South Africa

Peter Jacobus Van Berge