Fischer Tropsch (FT) technology

Johnson Matthey has collaborated with bp to produce our proprietary fixed-bed Fischer Tropsch (FT) technology– a simple and robust system which forms the heart of our gas-to-liquids (GTL) process. In the Fischer Tropsch process, carbon monoxide and hydrogen gases react to produce a range of mainly paraffinic (alkane) hydrocarbons.

Unlike slurry reactors, the Johnson Matthey DAVY™/bp fixed-bed FT CANS™ reactor has no moving parts and requires no continuous catalyst addition or separation. Instead, the proprietary bp catalyst runs at constant conditions and delivers a high-purity product that is easy to upgrade. All these factors amount to a simple and robust process with a high level of reliability and product quality.

Scaling up sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production with FT technology

As the global demand for SAF rises, fuel producers need a path to scalable SAF to meet demand. JM and bp’s FT technology, FT CANS, converts synthesis gas to synthetic crude, making it ready for further processing into SAF. The process is feedstock agnostic, meaning that your syngas can be produced from a wide range of sources, including biomass and municipal solid waste.

The unique and innovative reactor design of JM’s CANS technology allows easy scalability and significant CAPEX reduction compared to other FT technologies. By optimizing process performance and reducing catalyst loss, JM can also ultimately reduce the OPEX of managing a plant.

FT CANS can also be integrated with JM’s HyCOgen™ technology, which utilises renewable hydrogen and captured CO₂ to provide an end-to-end process that converts up to 95% of the CO₂ into high quality synthetic crude oil. The resulting fuel is a sustainable synthetic drop-in alternative to fossil fuels that can be used by the aviation industry.

Our FT CANS technology has been proven commercially, enabling Fulcrum’s Sierra BioFuels Plant to successfully convert waste to fuels, producing synthetic crude oil for clean transportation from waste that would have otherwise been sent to landfill.

FT CANS enables SAF production.

Get in touch

Licensed processes team

Read more

News

Johnson Matthey and bp to support planned production of carbon negative renewable diesel fuel plant at Strategic Biofuels project in Louisiana

Read article
News

JM and bp chosen by EDL to support production of SAF at HyKero plant in Germany

Read article
News

JM and bp’s innovative FT CANS technology successfully produces product for Fulcrum’s Sierra waste-to-fuels plant

Read article