Palladium supported on filamentous active carbon as effective catalyst for liquid-phase hydrogenation of 2-butyne-1,4-diol to 2-butene-1, 4-diol

Structured palladium catalysts suitable for three-phase reactions have been developed based on woven fabrics of active carbon fibres (ACF) as the catalytic supports. The Pd/ACF were tested in liquid-phase hydrogenation of 2-butyne-1,4-diol showing a selectivity towards 2-butene-1,4-diol up to 97% at conversions up to 80%. The catalyst multiple reuse with stable activity/selectivity in a batch reactor was also demonstrated. The reaction kinetics was studied and the main kinetic parameters were obtained. Assuming a Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetics and a weak hydrogen adsorption a suitable kinetic model was developed consistent with the experimental data. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.