Highly selective production of olefins from syngas with modified ASF distribution model

Abstract The Fischer-Tropsch to olefins (FTO) process is a promising alternative non-petroleum route to produce value-added olefins. In this study, Co 2 C nanoprisms formed via the CoMn spinel structure were used as the active phase for the FTO reaction and the product distribution was thoroughly investigated. A break from the traditional ASF model was found with much lower methane selectivity than that predicted by the ideal ASF law. In addition, the as-obtained hydrocarbons were mainly concentrated in the range of C 2 to C 12 with the C 2-12 selectivity as high as 91% while the C 13+ selectivity as low as 5%, indicating a much narrower distribution, which was rarely observed in the FT reaction. Moreover, ∼86% of the hydrocarbon products were olefins with very high olefin to paraffin ratios, suggesting a promising route for the selective production of olefins directly from syngas. A modified ASF distribution model was proposed with three different chain growth probabilities to rationalize the non-ASF phenomenon.