Archive
SYNTHETIC FUELS. Latest published applications 2015-2017. Fischer-Tropsch catalysts
Summary
The Fischer-Tropsch process, as a result of which synthesis gas is converted into liquid fuel, involves the use of a number of special catalysts, mainly based on iron, nickel, cobalt, and ruthenium. The choice of one or other catalyst is determined by the type of the final product, the type of reactor and, of course, economic indicators. Cobalt catalysts make it possible to obtain products primarily of the paraffinic group, have a high specific activity, durability, and the Fischer-Tropsch process with these catalysts proceeds at reduced temperatures and pressures. However, there are serious problems associated with excess methane formation. Iron-based catalysts have been developed since the middle of the last century. They allow a wide range of end products to be obtained, but require higher process temperatures. In addition, iron-based catalysts are short-lived due to active interaction with carbon and water. Ruthenium has the highest catalytic activity at relatively low temperatures. Nickel catalysts are mainly used for the synthesis of methane. Cost is often the determining factor in choosing a particular catalyst. When you consider that the cost of cobalt can be tens or even hundreds of times higher than the cost of iron, and ruthenium is tens of times more expensive than cobalt, it is obvious that the problems of selection, and moreover, the development of effective catalysts are of great importance. Recent technical solutions presented in the Statistical Bulletin of Patent Applications are aimed at improving existing as well as developing new types of catalysts and overcoming the existing barriers of Fischer-Tropsch technology.
A selection of patent applications related to synthetic fuels and Fischer-Tropsch catalysts and published by patent offices around the globe in 2015-2017 is provided for review in the present bulletin. General research methodology can be found at Advanced Energy Technologies website. The present bulletin includes 376 patent applications, prepared by applicants from 15 countries and registered in 22 patent offices. The patent documents mention 139 applicants and 261 IPC subgroups.
Key Highlights
The bulletin contains statistical data on the distribution of patent documents by years, by patent offices and by applicant countries, applicant-related data (residents and non-residents), data on the most frequently mentioned International Patent Classification divisions (sections, classes, subclasses, groups, and subgroups). The top three patent offices that registered the largest number of patent applications were CNIPA (CN), WIPO and USPTO (US).
For each of the patent documents selected for the examination in the present bulletin the characteristics of unified indicators were preliminary defined, they include: technical problems, types of inventive solutions employed, belonging to one or other technological segment. This allows the internal content for each of the indicators in the aggregate array of documents to be visualized, for instance, to define the sequence and proportional correlation of technical problems the inventive solutions disclosed in the texts aim to solve. A list of the top 10 groups consisting of patent documents with identical unified indicators contains ID numbers and applicant names of respective documents; the groups are sorted by the number of patent documents.
A list of the top 10 applicants by the number of patent documents includes IFP (École Nationale Supérieure du Pétrole et des Moteurs) (France), Shenhua Group Co Ltd (China), China Petroleum & Chemical Company (China), National Institute of Clean and Low Carbon Energy (NICE) (France), Sinopec Research Institute of Petroleum Engineering (China), BP PLC (Great Britain), Wuhan Kaidi Engineering Technology Research General Institute Co., Ltd. (China), Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij B.V. (Netherlands) Siluria Technologies Inc (USA), Wuhan Kaidi Technology R&D Institute Co. Ltd (China). Data representing the share in the established intellectual property market, distribution of applications by problems, IPC sections, patent offices is provided in the form of tables and diagrams for them.
The prominent documents pages contain the top 10 patent applications with the highest bibliographical rating, the most extensive coverage of IPC sections, and those not being a part of patent family.
The conclusive part of the bulletin represents the lists of all of the documents reviewed, arranged by the top 10 groups of patent documents with identical unified indicators and by patent offices with the indication of the ID numbers of the registered patent applications.
Who needs this bulletin?
The statistics bulletin under examination serves as one of the variants to monitor advanced technical achievements in the specified industrial sector. The statistical data, rating evaluations and carefully selected patent documents provided in the bulletin can be of interest for inventors, students and educators, engineers, as well as for businessmen and investors, who in one way or another are concerned with the problems of the development of synthetic fuels.
