ISSN 2070-0504, Catalysis in Industry, 2010, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 246–254. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2010. Original Russian Text © L.V. Sineva, E.A. Kozyukov, V.S. Ermolaev, I.G. Solomonik, A.Yu. Krylova, V.Z. Mordkovich, 2010, published in Kataliz v Promyshlennosti. 246 INTRODUCTION Synthetic liquid hydrocarbons used as components of motor fuels and the chemical raw materials obtained by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis are currently very popular subjects of scientific and science-related publications. Interest in them is primarily dictated by the production of alternative (mainly diesel and avia- tion) fuel from natural and associate gas, reserves of which (often simply combusted in flares) exceed by far our oil reserves. Apart from hydrocarbon-containing gases, any carbon-containing raw materials (e.g., any combustible solid mineral or biomass) can serve as a source of the CO and H 2 mixture (the syngas) for XTL (particularly GTL, CTL, and BTL) processes. The equation for the formation of hydrocarbons in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis is nCO + 2nH 2 (CH 2 ) n + nH 2 O. Accordingly, if hydrogen in syngas is completely replaced by deuterium, the equation will be nCO + 2nD 2 (CD 2 ) n + nD 2 O. The Fischer–Tropsch synthesis from (CO + 2D 2 ) is a simple and feasible method for the production of completely deuterated hydrocarbons. While this appli- cation is quite obvious, the preparation of completely deuterated waxes has not been studied in detail and has yet to find use in industry. These are, however, new materials that could be of interest to manufacturers and consumers of the deuterated solvents used in NMR, or as radioactive labels, or targets for initiating a thermonuclear reaction. In addition, completely deuterated waxes can retard neutron fluxes and can therefore be used in radiation control units and nuclear reactors, and in preparing containers for the transporting and shielding of radioactive materials. As is well known, the lighter the moderator nuclei, the higher the efficiency of moderation [1, 2]. Moreover, a good moderator should be characterized by weak absorption of neutrons, i.e., have a small absorption cross section. This is intrinsic of the cross sections of neutron absorption on deuterium and oxygen. Heavy water (D 2 O) is therefore an excellent moderator. Ordi- nary water is an acceptable (though slightly worse) moderator, since hydrogen absorbs neutrons much more actively than deuterium. Carbon, beryllium, and beryllium dioxide are also good moderators. Since the completely deuterated hydrocarbons obtained by Fis- cher–Tropsch synthesis consist only of deuterium and carbon, which have a small absorption cross section, there are broad prospects for using them as modera- tors. Another advantage of obtaining deuterated hydrocarbons by Fischer–Tropsch synthesis is the production of both liquid and solid hydrocarbons with high molecular masses. The average molecular mass of a product depends primarily on the catalyst’s compo- sition, and then on the synthesis conditions. High- molecular paraffins are well suited in their properties for the production of targets and shells of any form and size. Moreover, synthesis also forms heavy water, which can be used for the preparation of deuterium in situ. CATALYSIS IN CHEMICAL AND PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY Synthesis of Completely Deuterated Hydrocarbons L. V. Sineva a,b , E. A. Kozyukov a , V. S. Ermolaev b , I. G. Solomonik b , A. Yu. Krylova a,c , and V. Z. Mordkovich b a OOO NPO (Scientific Production Association) Sintez, Moscow, Russia b Technological Institute of Superhard and New Carbon Materials, Troitsk, Russia c Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia Received May 20, 2010 Abstract—The possibility of synthesizing a new material—completely deuterated hydrocarbons—by the Fischer–Tropsch process has been demonstrated. This is the first step toward the formation of a research- and-production basis for the creation of a pilot plant. There was no isotope effect; consequently, the key char- acteristics of the synthesis and products were determined by the properties of the catalyst and reaction con- ditions, irrespective of whether hydrogen or deuterium was used in the starting mixture. Waxes were removed from the catalyst surface under mild conditions; this did not require any special equipment or the transfer of catalyst to another reactor. The chosen catalyst was highly stable and can be used in a pilot plant for the pro- duction of completely deuterated waxes. The first evaluation of the properties of the new materials showed that they were promising as solvents for NMR, radioactive labels, targets, neutron flux moderators, etc. Key words: Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, cobalt catalyst, waxes, deuterated hydrocarbons. DOI: 10.1134/S2070050410030074