Some Aspects of the Mechanism of Methanation and Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis

When a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen is contacted with some metals (Co, Ru, Ni, Fe), a great number of reactions occur. Some of them are schematically described by the following stiochio-metric equations Reaction (1) with m=1 was discovered by Sabatier [1] and is usually called methanation. Reactions (1) to (3) with m < 1 are the Fischer-Tropsch [2] synthesis of hydrocarbons. There are several very good review papers [3–8] on this subject, and it is not intended to add another paper to this collection. Rather, results obtained during the last few years at Leiden will be reviewed. The mechanism suggested is still somewhat speculative; however, some experimental evidence exist for all aspects of the mechanism.