Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2025, Vol. 73: 16-38.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(25)64701-2

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Integrated Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and heterogeneous hydroformylation technologies toward high-value commodities from syngas

Ziang Zhaoa,1, Miao Jianga,1, Cunyao Lia, Yihui Lia, Hejun Zhua, Ronghe Linb(), Shenfeng Yuanc(), Li Yana(), Yunjie Dinga,b,d()   

  1. aDalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, Liaoning, China
    bKey Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Hangzhou Institute of Advanced Studies, Zhejiang Normal University, Hangzhou 311231, Zhejiang, China
    cCollege of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China
    dState Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, Liaoning, China
  • Received:2025-02-14 Accepted:2025-03-26 Online:2025-06-18 Published:2025-06-12
  • Contact: *E-mail: dyj@dicp.ac.cn (Y. Ding),yanli@dicp.ac.cn (L. Yan),ysf@zju.edu.cn (S. Yuan),catalysis.lin@zjnu.edu.cn (R. Lin).
  • About author:Ronghe Lin (Hangzhou Institute of Advanced Studies, Zhejiang Normal University) received his B.S. From Taiyuan University of Technology in 2005 and Ph.D. degree in 2010 from Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP), Chinese Academy of Sciences. He then stayed at DICP until 2015 and was an associate professor since 2013. He did postdoctoral research at ETH Zurich (Switzerland) with Prof. Javier Pérez-Ramírez in 2015-2019. After that he joined Zhejiang Normal University to start independent research centering on studying challenging reactions (selective hydrogenation, CO2 valorization, etc.) with industrial relevance by coupling advanced catalyst design, kinetic and spectroscopic studies. He has coauthored about 70 peer-reviewed papers.
    Shenfeng Yuan (College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University) received his B.E. degree from Zhejiang University of Technology in 1998 and Ph.D. degree in 2003 from Zhejiang University. He stayed at Zhejiang University since then and was an associate professor since 2005. His research interests involve areas such as synthesis of fine chemicals, extraction, special distillation and development of clean production processes. He has coauthored about 50 peer-reviewed papers.
    Li Yan (Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) received her B.S. degree from Dalian University of Technology in 2000, and Ph.D. degree from Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) in 2006. She stayed at DICP after graduation and become a full professor in 2015. She is now the director of the Research Center for Catalysis in Syngas Conversion and Fine Chemicals (DNL0805) of DICP. Prof. Yan’s research interests are mainly engaged in applied fundamental research on hydroformylation and hydrogenative amination, as well as engineering research of new catalytic processes. She has coauthored about 120 peer-reviewed papers.
    Yunjie Ding (Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) received his B.S. degree from Hangzhou University in 1985, and Ph.D. degree from Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP), Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1991. He worked as an associated professor in Zhejiang University from 1991 to 1999, in the period, he carried out postdoctoral research at Texas A&M University (USA) from 1995 to 1998. Then, he moved back to DICP as a full professor and also the group leader of DNL0805. Prof. Ding’s research focuses on heterogeneous catalysis in syngas conversion and fine chemicals, moving from design of advanced catalytic materials, molecular-level understanding of reaction mechanism, to industrialization of novel catalytic technologies. He owns more than 400 authorized patents and more than 13 technologies are commercialized. He is also the co-author of 300 papers in peer-reviewed journals.
    1 Contributed equally to this work.
  • Supported by:
    National Key Research and Development Program of China(2023YFB4103100);National Key Research and Development Program of China(2023YFA1508003);Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA29050300);National Natural Science Foundation of China(22002151);Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST(2023QNRC001);State Key Laboratory of Catalysis(2024SKL-B-005);Liaoning Binhai Laboratory(LBLG-2024-06);Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS(2021181);Science Foundation of Liaoning(2025JH6/101000016);Science Foundation of Liaoning(2023JH2/101800051);Science Foundation of Dalian(2023RY012)

Abstract:

Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) and hydroformylation are pivotal chemical processes for converting syngas and olefins into valuable hydrocarbons and chemicals. Recent advancements in catalyst design, reaction mechanisms, and process optimization have significantly improved the efficiency, selectivity, and sustainability of these processes. This Account introduces the relevant research activities in the Research Center for Catalysis in Syngas Conversion and Fine Chemicals (DNL0805) of Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP), Chinese Academy of Sciences. The reactions of interests include FTS, heterogeneous hydroformylation of olefins, alcohol dehydration and oxidation, and α-olefin polymerization, with the emphasis on developing innovative catalysts and processes to address the challenges of traditional processes. Exemplified by the discovery of robust Co-Co2C/AC for FTS and Rh1/POPs-PPh3 for heterogeneous hydroformylation of olefins, it demonstrates how lab-scale fundamental understandings on the active sites of catalysts leads to pilot-plant scale-up and finally commercial technologies. Perspectives on the challenges and directions for future developments in these exciting fields are provided.

Key words: Commercialization, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, Heterogeneous catalysis, Olefin hydroformylation, Processes development