title: Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography for the analysis of Fischer-Tropsch oil products.
abstract: The Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process involves a series of catalysed reactions of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, originating from coal, natural gas or biomass, leading to a variety of synthetic chemicals and fuels. The benefits of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) compared to one-dimensional GC (1D-GC) for the detailed investigation of the oil products of low and high temperature FT processes are presented. GC×GC provides more accurate quantitative data to construct Anderson-Schultz-Flory (ASF) selectivity models that correlate the FT product distribution with reaction variables. On the other hand, the high peak capacity and sensitivity of GC×GC allow the detailed study of components present at trace level. Analyses of the aromatic and oxygenated fractions of a high temperature FT (HT-FT) process are presented. GC×GC data have been used to optimise or tune the HT-FT process by using a lab-scale micro-FT-reactor.
authors.affiliation: Sasol Technology R&D, PO Box 1183, Sasolburg 1183, South Africa.
authors.forename: Rina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: van der Westhuizen
authors.forename: Renier
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Crous
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Villiers
authors.forename: Pat
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sandra
mesh_terms: D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods*; D009821:Oils / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D009821:Oils