Heat management of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis by designing the catalyst activity and thermal conductivity.

• High-activity 3D printing AlSiMg monolith catalysts were prepared. • High thermal conductivity of AlSiMg increased the heat transfer capacity. • A distributed parameter model with a reactor scale was used. • The activity and thermal conductivity of the catalyst should be optimized synchronously. 3D printing AlSiMg monolith catalysts are more suitable for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis due to their high thermal conductivity and thermally connected nature compared to the rolling FeCrAl monolith catalysts. In this paper, the effects of the catalyst activity and thermal conductivity on the reaction and thermal performance were studied by experiment and simulation. Two catalysts were prepared based on the rolling FeCrAl and 3D printing AlSiMg substrate and were designated as ROL-FeCrAl-MC and 3DP-AlSiMg-MC, respectively. The C 5+ yield of 3DP-AlSiMg-MC reached 0.98 g/(g cat •h), 4.44 times that of ROL-FeCrAl-MC. The simulation results indicated that the catalyst activity should be improved synchronously with thermal conductivity to keep the balance between the reaction heat and the heat transfer capacity. The catalyst activity of 3DP-AlSiMg-MC was 67% higher than that of ROL-FeCrAl-MC. It was suited to the high thermal conductivity of 3DP-AlSiMg-MC while that of ROL-FeCrAl-MC was well below expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]