An experimental study on a microchannel reactor for Fischer Tropsch synthesis

In this study, a stainless steel microchannel reactor was applied in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The washcoating of γ-alumina on the stainless steel substrate needed two steps included a primary coating and a washcoating of alumina slurry followed by. Conversion was higher in the microchannel reactor than that in a conventional fixed-bed catalytic test. It was attributed to the enhancement of mass and heat transfer within the micro-device. The results also demonstrated the lower CH4 selectivity could be achieved during Fischer-Tropsch synthesis owing to the better temperature control of the microchannel technology.