Short history and present trends of Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

Due to the large volume of existing literature on Fischer–Tropsch (FT) synthesis, the diversity of the subject and the actually reoriented interest, it seemed indicated to write a historical sketch about the process, putting also emphasis on present trends and future options. The matter is complicated and may be regarded from different positions. Thus history and trends have been divided into several lines which are elaborated individually: • The changing environment of demand and supply of fossil energies and the more stringently upcoming aspects of pollution control, of cleanliness of the automotive fuels and of energy saving. • The development of FT-reactors and processes, an area of highest present industrial activity and progress. • Preparation and performance of catalysts with particular concern about cobalt as the base metal. • FT intermediates and elemental reactions, difficult subjects as the FT multistep conversion features on the catalyst surface in the adsorbed state and kinetic principles as selective inhibition and spatial constraints seem to rule the regime. • Kinetic modelling of FT synthesis which has made great progress recently, particularly on the basis of newly provided detailed experimental data. Of course, presenting history and trends of FT synthesis on a few pages means generalising from many individual investigations and developments and also selection of only a few citations. So I want to apologise for all the contributions to science and technology around FT synthesis which I have missed to include into the article.