Numerical investigation of continuous processes for catalytic hydrogenation of nitrile butadiene rubber

Dynamic behavior of continuous processes was numerically investigated for the catalytic hydrogenation of nitrile butadiene rubber, based on developed models, which took into account the coupling between kinetics and mass transfer. The evolution of hydrogenation reaction trajectories in both cases were analyzed. It is proposed that the coupling behavior between the catalytic hydrogenation and mass transfer was completely determined by the ability of the catalyst in activating hydrogen, carbon‐carbon double bond loading level and the relative capacity of reaction to mass transfer as well as the residence time in the reactor. Four dimensionless parameters were derived to characterize these aspects. The effects of operation conditions on the hydrogenation processes were investigated. The application of the ideal flow models to non‐ideal flows was in addition discussed. It is suggested that the optimal reactor for such a hydrogenation system would be a plug flow reactor with an instantaneous well‐mixing component in the inlet of it, and a reasonable approach to the proposed optimal reactor should be with the flow behavior of at least three continuous stirred tank reactors in series. Further research directions are suggested.     

连续微反应加氢技术在有机合成中的研究进展

加氢反应是有机合成中很常见的一种反应类型,采用常规的间歇加氢釜具有反应效率低、操作烦琐和安全性差等问题。而连续加氢微反应器进行非均相催化加氢反应能提供更高的传质性能,催化剂的回收利用与产物的纯化也更为方便,能极大地提高生产效率,减少贵金属催化剂的损失。因为这些优点,连续微反应加氢技术得到了越来越多的关注。本文阐述了连续微反应加氢技术中常用的微反应器与固体金属催化剂类型,以及不同官能团非均相高效催化加氢的研究进展,在此基础,对该技术在精细化工领域的应用进行了展望。连续微反应加氢技术使得加氢过程可以在更安全、更高效、更环保的条件下完成,具有很高的工业应用价值,是未来化学化工领域重点发展的方向之一。     

连续微反应加氢技术在脱保护反应中的应用

保护与脱保护是医药中间体等精细化工领域中较为常见的一种有机合成策略。常用的保护基主要有苄基与苄氧羰基,通常可利用催化加氢法将其脱除。采用高压加氢间歇釜工艺存在气液传质效率低,操作安全性差,氢解效率低等问题。采用连续微反应加氢技术进行非均相催化加氢脱保护,可以利用其较高的气液传质效率和平推流特性实现高选择性脱保护,并显著缩短反应时间。本文阐述了连续微反应加氢技术在脱保护反应中的优点及其在药物中间体合成中的实际应用,并介绍了催化剂与溶剂对脱保护反应的影响。最后对连续微反应加氢技术在脱保护中的应用进行了展望。     

Computational fluid dynamics in the development of catalytic reactors

Computational fluid dynamics is becoming an important tool in the study of chemical engineering processes and apparatuses (in particular, the share of works with the application of this method is nearly 6% of the total number of all chemical engineering works issued by Elsevier Science Publishers in 2010). The possibilities of computational fluid dynamics are demonstrated using examples from three different chemical engineering fields: developing a method for loading a tubular reactor for the steam conversion of natural gas, studying heat transfer in a reactor for the hydrogenation of vegetable oils upon the replacement of a catalyst, and investigating the transitional processes in an automobile neutralizer. The results from computational fluid dynamics are verified by comparing them with experimental data in developing a method for loading a tubular reactor, using the problem of decelerating a catalyst particle with a flow of air as an example. The obtained data are compared with classical measurement data on the aerodynamic drag of a ball and a cylinder and represent the further development of works on the flow around particles of complex shape. In this work, the results from inspecting a reactor for the hydrogenation of oils with allowance for the possible heating and uniform distribution of a flow before its entering the catalyst bed are presented. It is shown that the construction of the reactor does not ensure homogeneity of the reaction flow at the desired level and requires modification of heating elements. The efficiency of computational fluid dynamics for investigating fast processes with a chemical reaction is exemplified by studying the transitional processes in an catalytic automobile neutralizer (the effect of flow dynamics and heat transfer on the thermal regime in a honeycomb catalyst particle is very difficult to study by experimental methods). The application of computational fluid dynamics allows us to reduce considerably the time and cost of developing and optimizing the designs of efficient catalytic fixed-, fluidized-, or moving-bed reactors (particularly multiphase stirred (slurry) reactors), along with mixers, adsorbers, bubblers, and other chemical engineering apparatuses with moving media.     

Hydrodynamik und Stofftransport in einem Perlschnurreaktor für Gas/Flüssig/Fest‐Reaktionen

In this work, a pellet string reactor was characterized with respect to hydrodynamics and mass transfer. The catalyst packing consists of a cylindrical channel with a diameter of 1.41 mm, which was filled with spherical catalyst particles, having an outer diameter of 0.8 mm. Under reaction conditions (liquid phase hydrogenation of α‐methylstyrene) overall (gas‐liquid‐solid) volumetric mass transfer coefficients for hydrogen between 0.8 and 5.5 s^–1 were computed. Due to high mass transfer rates and simple reactor geometry, pellet string reactors can be applied in industry as highly efficient reaction units.     

Effective interfacial area for mass transfer in the liquid–liquid slug flow capillary microreactors

Liquid–liquid biphasic reactions play an important role in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The liquid–liquid slug flow capillary microreactor offers considerable potential benefits over the conventional liquid–liquid contactors. Though the hydrodynamics and mass transfer have been investigated for this reactor concept, so far the effective interfacial area available for mass transfer has not been experimentally quantified. Despite the well-defined flow patterns arising in the capillary microreactor, the wetting behaviour of the liquids at the capillary wall is inadequately integrated into the models and thus, the true interfacial area being used for mass transfer is uncertain.     

The hydrogenation of isophorone to trimethyl cyclohexanone using the downflow single capillary reactor

Despite many innovations in the intensification of catalytic multiphase reactors for the small and medium scale manufacture of chemicals, there have as yet been relatively few commercial successes. One reason for this might be that many of these developments inherently incorporate a fixed catalyst, which may not suit an industry that is based on principles of batch manufacture and multi-product plant. This study evaluates an intensified reactor that encompasses the opportunities demonstrated from structured flows and thin channels, together with a mobile, slurry catalyst, namely a capillary reactor with gas/liquid/suspended catalyst flow. A downflow single capillary reactor (SCR) was designed, built and evaluated for the selective hydrogenation of isophorone to trimethyl cyclohexanone using commercial Pd- and Rh-based catalysts. Using the single capillary arrangement, the reaction was shown to be operating under kinetic control.

Comparison of the rate of hydrogenation with autoclave showed a significant increase of the reaction rate when capillary reactor was used. The temperature of reaction is a crucial factor in tuning the reaction towards different products. The constant relative reaction rate obtained for different catalyst loading as well as the calculated value of the apparent activation energy show that the reaction of hydrogenation of isophorone is not mass transfer limited in the single capillary reactor.     

QUALITATIVE OBSERVATIONS OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER EFFECTS ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF A TRICKLE BED REACTOR

This paper examines the effect of simultaneous heat and mass transfer on the hydrogenation of cyclohexene in a trickle bed reactor with particular attention given to the problem of liquid phase evaporation and transition to the gas-phase regime of operation. The reaction rates are obtained as a function of temperature and hydrogen flow rate; the concentration of the substrate in the feed displays considerable hysteresis due to an abrupt increase of the reaction rate arising from temperature gradients within the bed and in the gas film surrounding the catalyst pellet, during the transition from the liquid to the gas-phase regime. The transition is accompanied by the change of apparent kinetics of the model reaction as well as by a change of regime and operation of the pellet. In the liquid phase a pellet originally showing inter-phase and intra-particle diffusion resistances changes into the gas-phase regime with a large resistance due to inter-phase diffusion.     

Liquid-solid mass transfer in a trickle-bed reactor measured by means of a catalytic reaction

Global rates of reaction (the hydrogenation of cyclohexene to cyclohexane on Pd/Al₂O₃) were measured in a trickle-bed reactor at various gas and liquid flow rates. The liquid superficial velocity was higher than 1.2 × 10⁻² m/s so as to achieve complete wetting of the catalyst particles. Liquid-solid mass transfer coefficients were calculated from the rate data. In the low interaction regime, the coefficients depend on both the gas and liquid rates, in contrast with most of the previous studies. At the transition to the high interaction regime, a significant change in the values of the coefficients was observed. The experimental liquid-solid mass transfer coefficients are in good agreement with values predicted by correlations published in the literature.     

Experimental investigation of fast-mode liquid modulation in a trickle-bed reactor

Unsteady-state operation of trickle-bed reactors (TBRs) is a promising technique to improve reactor performances especially when mass transfer phenomena are rate controlling. Among the different techniques, fast-mode modulation of the liquid flow rate seems to be one of the most successful. In fact cycling the liquid flow rate at very low frequencies can induce the reactor to work at the high-interaction regime where mass and heat transfer phenomena are strongly enhanced. Fast-mode periodic operation, then, can be considered an extension of the natural high-interaction regime at a mean range of gas and liquid flow rate normally associated with trickling regime in steady-state conditions.Experimental tests have been performed in a TBR employing α-methyl styrene hydrogenation on Pd/C catalyst in unsteady-state conditions by “on-off” fast-mode liquid modulation. Results have been compared with the steady-state experiments at the corresponding average liquid flow rate, revealing a conversion rate improvement up to 60%. All experiments have been performed in isothermal conditions, so conversion improvement can be ascribed only to mass transfer increase and not to thermal effects. The variation of gas and liquid flow rates and liquid cycle parameters presented several important implications about the optimal working conditions.     

Influence of operating conditions on the observed reaction rate in the single channel monolith reactor

The catalytic hydrogenation of nitrobenzoic acid (NBA) to the aminobenzoic acid was used as a model reaction for a quantitative study of influences of the operating conditions on the observed reaction rate in a single channel monolith reactor operated in Taylor flow regime. A simple mathematical model was derived and used for the analysis of hydrogenation experiments carried out in batch mode. Results showed that in the investigated concentration range of NBA, i.e. 0.0005–0.02 mol/l and under the hydrogen pressure of 1 bar, the observed reaction rate is considerably limited by mass transport. At higher concentrations of NBA, the reaction is controlled by the hydrogen mass transport while at lower concentrations the mass transport of NBA is dominant. The analysis of experimental results, which were obtained when the length of gas bubbles and liquid slugs were varied, showed that the reaction took place in the thin liquid film surrounding the gas bubble. The liquid slug serves as exchanger of reactants and reaction products between bulk liquid slug and liquid film surrounding the catalyst surface.     

Determination of mass transfer resistances of fast reactions in three‐phase mechanically agitated slurry reactors

A methodology for the determination of mass transfer resistances of fast reactions in three‐phase mechanically agitated slurry reactors under the reaction conditions is presented. The mass transfer resistances affect significantly the overall mass transfer rate, the design equation and consequently the scale up of the reactor. There is not established methodology to separate the mass transfer resistances under reaction conditions by changing catalyst loading and manipulating the process variables, pressure and agitation speed. This allows to avoid the use of different catalyst particles and give the chance to calculate the mass transfer resistances without caring about the type of catalyst. We calculate each mass transfer resistance under conditions which do not allow to neglect any of the resistances. It is shown that the level off of mass transfer rate which is developed in the plot of mass transfer rate against agitation speed plots is not enough to determine the limiting regime. The hydrogenation of styrene over Pd/C (5% catalyst content) is used as case study to demonstrate the methodology. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 273–282, 2017     

A Palladium Wall Coated Microcapillary Reactor for Use in Continuous Flow Transfer Hydrogenation

Herein we describe the preparation of a novel continuous flow multi‐channel microreactor in which the internal surface has been functionalised with a palladium coating, enabling its use in catalytic heterogeneous liquid‐phase reactions. Simple chemical deposition techniques were used to immobilise palladium(0) on the channel wall surface of a polymeric multi‐capillary extrudate made from ethylene‐vinyl alcohol copolymer. The Pd coating of the microcapillaries has been characterised by mass spectrometry and light and electron microscopy. The functional activity of the catalytic Pd layer was tested in a series of transfer hydrogenation reactions using triethylsilane as the hydrogen source.     

Asymmetric Homogeneous Hydrogenation in Flow using a Tube‐in‐Tube Reactor

In this update, the asymmetric homogeneous hydrogenation of a number of trisubstituted olefins utilizing the recently developed tube‐in‐tube gas‐liquid flow reactor is described. A number of chiral iridium‐ and rhodium‐based catalysts and other parameters such as pressure, solvent, temperature and catalyst loading were screened. The advantage of the flow set‐up for rapid screening and optimization of reaction parameters is illustrated. Furthermore, a comparative study using batch conditions aided in the optimization of the flow reaction set‐up. The set‐up was further modified to recycle the catalyst which prolonged catalytic activity.     

Gas‐Liquid Mass Transfer in a Bench‐Scale Trickle Bed Reactor used for Benzene Hydrogenation

The gas‐liquid mass transfer coefficients (MTCs) of a trickle bed reactor used for the study of benzene hydrogenation were investigated. The Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst bed was diluted with a coarse‐grained inert carborundum (SiC) particle catalyst. Gas‐liquid mass transfer coefficients were estimated by using a heterogeneous model for reactor simulation, incorporating reaction kinetics, vapor‐liquid equilibrium, and catalyst particle internal mass transfer apart from gas‐liquid interface mass transfer. The effects of liquid axial dispersion and the catalyst wetting efficiency are shown to be negligible. Partial external mass transfer coefficients are correlated with gas superficial velocity, and comparison between them and those obtained from experiments conducted on a bed diluted with fine particles is also presented. On both sides of the gas‐liquid interface the hydrogen mass transfer coefficient is higher than the corresponding benzene one and both increase significantly with gas velocity. The gas‐side mass transfer limitations appear to be higher in the case of dilution with fine particles. On the liquid side, the mass transfer resistances are higher in the case of dilution with coarse inerts for gas velocities up to 3 · 10^–2 cm/sec, while for higher gas velocities this was inversed and higher mass transfer limitations were obtained for the beds diluted with fine inerts.     

Parallel hydrogenation for the quantification of wetting efficiency and liquid–solid mass transfer in a trickle‐bed reactor

A novel method for the measurement of wetting efficiency in a trickle‐bed reactor under reaction conditions is introduced. The method exploits reaction rate differences of two first‐order liquid‐limited reactions occurring in parallel, to infer wetting efficiencies without any other knowledge of the reaction kinetics or external mass transfer characteristics. Using the hydrogenation of linear‐ and isooctenes, wetting efficiency is measured in a 50‐mm internal diameter, high‐pressure trickle‐bed reactor. Liquid–solid mass transfer coefficients are also estimated from the experimental conversion data. Measurements were performed for upflow operation and two literature‐defined boundaries of hydrodynamic multiplicity in trickle flow. Hydrodynamic multiplicity in trickle flow gave rise to as much as 10% variation in wetting efficiency, and 10–20% variation in the specific liquid–solid mass transfer coefficient. Conversions for upflow operation were significantly higher in trickle‐flow operation, because of complete wetting and better liquid–solid mass transfer characteristics. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2011.     

Modelling of kinetics and mass transfer in the hydrogenation of xylose over Raney nickel catalyst

This paper discusses the modelling of xylose hydrogenation kinetics over Raney nickel in aqueous solutions, the determination of the hydrogen solubility in the reaction mixture as well as evaluation of mass transfer effects in the reaction system. The hydrogenation experiments were carried out batchwise in an automatic laboratory‐scale reactor. The reactor system operated at a pressure range of 40–70 bar and at temperatures between 80 and 140 °C. The catalyst‐to‐xylose ratio was approximately 5 wt‐% of the xylose weight normally. The reactor contents were analysed off‐line with a high performance liquid chromatograph. Hydrogen solubility in the reaction medium was determined with a gas‐chromatographic system. The solubility was found to remain fairly constant during the hydrogenation. Only a slight increase in the hydrogen solubility was detected as xylose was hydrogenated to xylitol. The overall hydrogen solubility in the reaction mixture was significantly lower than in pure water, as expected. The main hydrogenation product was xylitol, but small amounts of xylulose and arabinitol were detected as by‐products. A semi‐competitive kinetic model, based on hydrogen and xylose adsorption, was developed. The model accounts for the very different areas covered by a hydrogen atom and an organic species on the catalyst surface. The parameters of the kinetic model were determined with non‐linear regression analysis. It turned out that the kinetic model is able to describe the formation of both xylitol and the by‐products. The mass transfer effects in the batch hydrogenation were evaluated by using measured viscosities and estimated diffusion and mass transfer coefficients. A process simulator, utilizing the kinetic and mass transfer effects, was developed to predict the behaviour of industrial reactors. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry     

微型气液固三相等温微分浆态床反应器的优化

针对气液固三相浆态床催化反应中,传递、反应、催化剂的原位表征均比较复杂的问题,为了有利于气、固相均匀分散于液相和反应温度在反应器中实现等温,通过对气液固三相反应工艺特性和反应器性能要求的分析,对微型气液固三相浆态床反应器进行了优化。根据微型浆态床对气液固三相反应分析的要求,采用图像法研究了分布器为G1、G2、G3,砂板直径为2、2.5、3 cm反应器中的流体力学性能特征,考察了气体流速、温度、反应器直径及气体分布器对气含率、气泡尺寸、气泡上升速率以及气泡分布的影响,并进行流体动力学模拟计算,确定了微型浆态床反应器的直径为2 cm,气体分布器为G3砂板的反应器结构,该反应器可以应用于反应过程中间态及液体产物生成过程的测试。     

Simulation of an Industrial Pyrolysis Gasoline Hydrogenation Unit

A model is developed based on a two‐stage hydrogenation of pyrolysis gasoline to obtain a C₆–C₈ cut suitable for extraction of aromatics. In order to model the hydrogenation reactors, suitable hydrodynamic and reaction submodels should be solved simultaneously. The first stage hydrogenation takes place in a trickle bed reactor. The reaction rates of different di‐olefines as well as hydrodynamic parameters of the trickle bed (i.e., catalyst wetting efficiency, pressure drop, mass transfer coefficient and liquid hold‐up) have been combined to derive the equations to model this reactor. The second stage hydrogenation takes place in a two compartment fixed bed reactor. Hydrogenation of olefines takes place in the first compartment while sulfur is eliminated from the flow in the second compartment. These reactions occur at relatively higher temperature and pressure compared to the first stage. The key component in this stage is considered to be cyclohexene, of which the hydrogenation was found to be the most difficult of the olefines present in the feed. The Langmuir‐Hinshelwood kinetic expression was adopted for the hydrogenation of cyclohexene and its kinetic parameters were determined experimentally in a micro‐reactor in the presence of the industrial catalyst. The model was solved for the whole process of hydrogenation, including hydro‐desulfurization. The predictions of the model were compared with actual plant data from an industrial scale pyrolysis gasoline hydrogenation unit and satisfactory agreement was found between the model and plant data.     

Aqueous‐Phase Reforming in a Microreactor: The Role of Surface Bubbles

In heterogeneous catalysis, the creation of gaseous products as bubbles in a liquid phase on the catalytic surface is associated with slip phenomena. In a microreactor, the slip length at the gas‐liquid interface is in the same order of magnitude as the reactor dimensions, which can affect fluid dynamics and transport phenomena. Here, the interplay of momentum, heat and mass transfer in a microreactor, when bubbles form on the catalytic surface, was investigated using two‐dimensional simulations. The effect of bubbles on the endothermic process of aqueous‐phase reforming of a glycerol solution was evaluated in terms of conversion and conversion and temperature in the reactor. Altogether, this study highlights the impact of bubbles, not only on the transport phenomena but also on the reactor performance.