Solvent hydrogenation of cottonseed oil

Refined and bleached cottonseed oil was dissolved in a solvent (hexane, isopropyl alcohol, or di-isopropyl ether) and was then hydrogenated in a dead-end hydrogenator. Hydrogenation runs were conducted at temperatures from 115 to 145°C., at hydrogen partial pressures from 44 to 74 p.s.i.a., with catalyst concentrations varying from 0.05 to 0.40% nickel, and at high rates of agitation to climinate mass-transfer resistances. A series of hydrogenation runs was also made in which no solvent was used. The rates of hydrogenation for the various series of runs were in the same order of magnitude but decreased in the following order: nonsolvent, hexane, isopropyl alcohol, and di-isopropyl other runs. Selectivity and isomerization were low in all cases and essentially identical for solvent and nonsolvent runs. The rate of hydrogenation increased in all cases with higher catalyst concentrations. For the isopropanol runs, the reaction rate was maximum as a function of temperature at about 135°C. In the case of the other solvents, the rate of hydrogenation increased with increased temperature in the range from 115 to 145°C., but the rate increases of the solvent runs were less than those of the nonsolvent runs.