Use of Reactive Distillation in Chain Propogation Reactions

75125S The use of reactive distillation for the Fischer-Tropsch process would have significant technical and economic benefits. Technically, the process would be far simpler than a conventional reactor followed by a hydrocracking unit. Economically, products produced by a Fischer-Tropsch reactive distillation column could be sent directly to a fuels blending unit, bypassing all intermediate refinery processes and significantly reducing processing costs. This project will demonstrate the use of Fischer-Tropsch reactive distillation to control the product molecular weight, and in turn, reduce the energy requirements of chain growth reactions. In Phase I, two reaction systems, isobutylene oligomerization and Fischer-Tropsch, were selected to determine the applicability of reactive distillation for chain growth reactions. Reactive distillation was found to be effective for both, but its use for the Fischer-Tropsch reaction was found to be of greater significance. Phase II will collect the engineering data necessary to scale-up and commercialize the concept. The effort will be divided into five steps: (1) system design, (2) construction and operation, (3) configuration testing, (4) economic evaluation, and (5) progress reporting. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The Fischer-Tropsch reactive distillation system should benefit refiners, oil and gas producers, engine manufacturers, and government agencies. Refiners would have ultra-clean, low sulphur fuels added to their blending stocks to aid in meeting new low sulphur fuel requirements. Oil and gas producers would be able to "monetize" wells that were previously considered to be too marginal to be profitable, either due to substandard gas or environmental requirements. Engine manufacturers would benefit from the compositional consistency of the fuel produced, and Federal and State agencies would benefit from the ability to develop oil and gas wells on government property.