Patent ID: 8729140

Claim:
A process for regenerating one or more Fischer-Tropsch catalyst particles comprising cobalt in situ in a reactor tube, said catalyst particle(s) having been deactivated by use in a Fischer-Tropsch process, said process for regenerating comprising the steps of: (i) oxidising the catalyst particle(s) at a temperature between 20 and 400° C.; (ii) treating the catalyst particle(s) for more than 5 minutes; (iii) drying and optionally heating the catalyst particle(s); and (iv) reducing the catalyst particle(s) with hydrogen or a hydrogen comprising gas; wherein the treatment step (ii) comprises the steps of: (ii)a filling pores of the catalyst particle(s) with a liquid comprising ammonia and having a pH in the range of from 10 to 14, at a temperature in the range of from 0 to 50° C., using a pore fill method in which most of the pores of the carrier material at the surface of one or more catalyst particles are filled with the liquid, (ii)b passing carbon dioxide through the reactor tube along the catalyst particle(s); and (ii)c leaving the carbon dioxide treated liquid in the pores for more than 5 minutes at a temperature between 5 and 90° C.