Reactor system for Sasol
Operating under truly isothermal conditions
Sasol is a world-leader in Fischer-Tropsch technology: a process in which synthesis gas consisting of CO and H2 derived usually from natural gas or coal is converted to higher molecular weight paraffins. They contacted ILS to obtain a 4-parallel fixed-bed reactor system capable of comparing very similarly-performing catalysts with high data quality. One of the major hurdles to overcome was the ability to operate the unit under truly isothermal conditions using a unique heating/cooling design.
A process-optimization unit capable of identifying minor performance differences
After discussing with Sasol, ILS determined that they required a process-optimization unit capable of identifying minor performance differences between similar catalyst types and not a unit for just doing catalyst screening. To do this, it was critical that the unit have internal temperature sensing with a primary/secondary temperature control capable of accounting for the high heat of reaction and providing true isothermal operation. The ability to do separate flow, concentraion, pressure and temperature control made it possible to test a wide process parameter space quickly. Low dead volumes resulted in quick process equilibration measured by online GC providing quick information about the affect of various process parameters on catalyst performance.
A unit was tailored exactly to the clients needs
Hendrik van Rensburg, Sasol Technology UK:
“We needed bespoke fixed bed reactors for Fischer-Tropsch chemistry. It was important that the unit was tailored exactly to our needs and we wanted to see good engineering capabilities and an understanding of the chemistry involved. The ILS parallel reactor system has dramatically increased our throughput while still being accurate and reproducible. It’s opened up new areas of research and the enhanced internal abilities have helped us to save the money we would have spent externally. We’re now in the loop more with our internal customers. You should work with ILS. They can build you whatever you want and it will be a very good working relationship.”
