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The world's first large scale commercial Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) fuel production plant using low temperature Fischer-Tropsch (LTFT) technology, Oryx GTL, has been in operation in Qatar since 2007. The first on-specification diesel fuel produced by this plant was subjected to a comprehensive fit-for-purpose validation program, part of which comprised exhaust emission tests which were conducted with two different passenger cars and two different heavy-duty engines. Three neat GTL diesel fuels were included in the study: commercial GTL diesel fuel, an equivalent full boiling range GTL diesel fuel produced in a pilot plant, and a GTL diesel fuel with a narrower distillation range. Commercial sulfur-free (≺10 mg/kg) European EN590 diesel fuel was used as the reference fuel. In addition, tests were performed with two different blending ratios (20% and 50%) of GTL diesel in the EN590 diesel.

This paper reports on the comprehensive applications testing of the first commercial volumes of Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) diesel produced via the Sasol Slurry Phase Distillate™ (Sasol SPD™) process, a Low Temperature Fischer-Tropsch (LTFT) process, at the Oryx GTL plant in Qatar. The technical literature is well populated with results of emissions and applications studies of GTL diesel; however, these results have been limited to product produced at pilot plant and relatively small commercial scale. To ensure that diesel produced commercially not only matches the performance of material previously produced at pilot plant scale using the same technology, but is also fit-for-purpose in the broader sense, a series of chemical assessments and applications testing was performed using both neat and blended diesel fuels. These included emissions tests in passenger cars and heavy-duty applications, engine durability, injector fouling performance and a passenger car fleet trial.