Promoting complete carbon utilization in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis by tail-gas methanation
- 1aCatalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), Jardins de Les Dones de Negre 1, Sant Adrià de Besòs, 08930, Spain.bFacultat de Química, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès, 1, Barcelona 08028, Spain.
- 2aCatalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), Jardins de Les Dones de Negre 1, Sant Adrià de Besòs, 08930, Spain.
Abstract
Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) is a cornerstone technology for the production of sustainable fuels and chemicals. However, the conversion of CO2-containing syngas is fundamentally limited by the quasi-inert behavior of CO2 under low-temperature FTS conditions. In this work, we systematically evaluate the carbon-efficiency limits of conventional FTS process configurations using process simulations. Representative industrial cases are analyzed, including a single-reactor system, recycle-loop configurations, reactor cascading, and reforming-assisted operation. While process intensification strategies increase CO conversion above 90%, overall carbon efficiency saturates at 70–75% due to CO2 accumulation. To overcome this limitation, we demonstrate that incorporating a tail-gas methanation unit enables near-complete carbon utilization (>99%) by converting residual CO and CO2 into grid-compatible e-methane. The effect is particularly pronounced in non-reforming configurations, where carbon efficiency increases from 58–73% in the FTS approach to ∼99% due to methanation of residual COx species, effectively compensating for their limited carbon utilization in FTS. In addition, methanation requires only a minor reactor-scale penalty, with catalyst loads remaining two orders of magnitude lower than those of FTS units (≈0.3–3.5 wt%), owing to the high reactivity and low flow rate of the tail gas. Compared with reforming-based strategies, methanation provided smaller reactor beds and a less heat-intensive pathway for carbon recovery.
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BibTeX
@article{lwazzani2026promoting,
title = {{Promoting complete carbon utilization in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis by tail-gas methanation}},
author = {M. Amine Lwazzani and Andrés A. García Blanco and Joan Ramón Morante and Jordi Guilera},
journal = {RSC Sustainability},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1039/d6su00298f},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1039/d6su00298f},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Promoting complete carbon utilization in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis by tail-gas methanation
AU - M. Amine Lwazzani
AU - Andrés A. García Blanco
AU - Joan Ramón Morante
AU - Jordi Guilera
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/01
JO - RSC Sustainability
DO - 10.1039/d6su00298f
UR - https://doi.org/10.1039/d6su00298f
AB - Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) is a cornerstone technology for the production of sustainable fuels and chemicals. However, the conversion of CO2-containing syngas is fundamentally limited by the quasi-inert behavior of CO2 under low-temperature FTS conditions. In this work, we systematically evaluate the carbon-efficiency limits of conventional FTS process configurations using process simulations. Representative industrial cases are analyzed, including a single-reactor system, recycle-loop configurations, reactor cascading, and reforming-assisted operation. While process intensification strategies increase CO conversion above 90%, overall carbon efficiency saturates at 70–75% due to CO2 accumulation. To overcome this limitation, we demonstrate that incorporating a tail-gas methanation unit enables near-complete carbon utilization (>99%) by converting residual CO and CO2 into grid-compatible e-methane. The effect is particularly pronounced in non-reforming configurations, where carbon efficiency increases from 58–73% in the FTS approach to ∼99% due to methanation of residual COx species, effectively compensating for their limited carbon utilization in FTS. In addition, methanation requires only a minor reactor-scale penalty, with catalyst loads remaining two orders of magnitude lower than those of FTS units (≈0.3–3.5 wt%), owing to the high reactivity and low flow rate of the tail gas. Compared with reforming-based strategies, methanation provided smaller reactor beds and a less heat-intensive pathway for carbon recovery.
SN - 2753-8125
ER -