Selective Hydrogenation of 1-Heptyne in a Mini Trickle Bed Reactor

The selective hydrogenation of I-heptyne over a 2 wt % Pd/Al2O3 catalyst was studied in a trickle bed reactor operating in both batch recycle and continuous modes. The reaction was studied in a range of different solvents, including isopropanol, hexane, mixtures of these two solvents, and also isopropanol with small quantities of water and base (NaOH) added. It was found that the rate of reaction was fastest in hexane, owing to the higher hydrogen solubility in this solvent. However, the selectivity toward I-heptene was higher in isopropanol, with over 95% selectivity being maintained for 120 min of the total 240 min reaction time. The addition of water or base led to an increase in reaction rate, possibly through modification of the adsorption equilibria at the catalyst surface or direct involvement in the reaction. The hydrodynamics of trickle flow upon the reaction were investigated, showing that increasing liquid flow rate led to enhancement of reaction rate, although a plateau was eventually reached at the higher flows. The higher flows led to improved catalyst wetting, liquid hold up, and mass transfer rates, thus explaining the enhanced reaction rate. The concentration profiles were fitted according to a Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic expression. Operation in continuous flow was demonstrated, although a long residence time was required for high conversion, leading to lower 1-heptene selectivity compared with batch recycle operation.