Sasol advances with iron catalysts

Researchers from Sasol and the Catalysis Institute at the University of Cape Town (UCT) have announced advances in the use of commercial iron catalyst in CO2 hydrogenation at rates above 40%. This produces ethylene and light olefins, which can be used as chemical feedstocks and in jet fuel much more cheaply and efficiently than cobalt catalysts.

Sasol has long been using its Fischer Tropsch technology to convert low-grade coal and coal-derived gases into synthetic fuels and chemicals. Its largest case, at the Secunda plant in Mpumalanga, converts a mixture of CO and hydrogen from coal plus reformed natural gas into 160,000 bbl/day of products.