Fischer-Tropsch synthesis
Síntesis de Fischer-Tropsch
- Date
- 1925-1926 · confidence high
- Place
- Mülheim an der Ruhr, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
- Credited to
- Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
A catalytic process that converts carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbons from coal or gas. It fuelled Nazi Germany and later South Africa, a country with no oil.
The Ruhrchemie plant started in 1935; Bergius reached fuel by another route (coal hydrogenation) in 1913.
What it led to
- German synthetic fuels in the war
- Sasol in South Africa
- gas-to-liquids (GTL)