Intensification of commercial slurry phase reactors

Publisher Summary While air separation and synthesis gas generation remain the main contributors to the capital cost of the GTL process units, capital savings can also be achieved in synthesis gas conversion. Improvements in Fischer–Tropsch reactor design allows increased production capacity from the same reactor shell size or equivalent production capacity from smaller reactors through process intensification while maintaining or improving selectivity and overall synthesis gas conversion. The manufacture of large-scale reactors is costly with a limited number of suppliers who have the capacity to produce such vessels. This chapter focuses on the potential of the Fischer–Tropsch slurry phase reactor to contribute to cost reductions per barrel of product through reactor intensification. The cost reduction could be realized through a combination of a lower material and construction cost per barrel of product produced, as well as having access to a larger pool of potential manufacturers. Opportunities will be created to standardize certain components of reactor manufacture in partnership with preferred suppliers. A further benefit is the ability to match the FT reactor capacity to the increasing maximum capacity for vendor-supplied air separation units and synthesis gas-generation units. Single train capacities of ca. 7000 ton/day oxygen are expected to be achievable in the future, which corresponds to a FT reactor capacity of ca. 40,000 bpd.