| 摘要 |
<p>Natural gas is processed to generate longer-chain hydrocarbons by first reacting (20) the methane to generate a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, and subjecting this mixture to Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (30) to generate longer-chain hydrocarbons. This produces a range of hydrocarbons including waxy hydrocarbons. The liquid product from the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis is then reacted with hydrogen in a compact catalytic reactor (50, 52) at a substantially constant temperature in the range 400° to 45O0C and an elevated pressure above 80 atmospheres so it undergoes hydrocracking. Remaining gases are recycled (56) to the hydrocracking reactor, and the liquid product is processed to remove a residual waxy fraction. This residual waxy fraction (62) may be returned to the hydrocracking reactor, and may be used as a coolant for the hydrocracking process.</p> |
