Analysis of Operating Variables on the Performance of a Reactor for Total Hydrogenation of Olefins in a C3-C4 Stream

SERGIO PATRICIO BRESSA; JAVIER ALBERTO ALVES; NÉSTOR JAVIER MARIANI; OSVALDO MIGUEL MARTÍNEZ; GUILLERMO FERNANDO BARRETO

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL

Elsevier Science Ltd.

Lugar: Oxford, Inglaterra.; Año: 2003 vol. 92 p. 41 - 54

1385-8947

A mathematical model of a three-phase fixed-bed catalytic unit operated in up-flow mode to hydrogenate traces of unsaturates from a C3-C4 stream intended as aerosol propellent use is presented. Reaction rate parameters have been obtained from catalytic tests carried out on a commercial Pd / Al2O3 catalyst. The mathematical model is employed to analyse the effect of operating conditions such as temperature, pressure, hydrogen mass flow rate and feed composition on the reactor performance. The volatility of the hydrocarbon mixture was a paramount factor to dilute H2 in the vapor phase, hence, to diminish the H2 solubility in the liquid stream and the hydrogenation rates. The conclusion regarding the effect of temperature precludes the usual operating policy of rising temperature to compensate for catalytic activity decay. Instead, increasing the H2 input and/or the operating pressure were shown to be effective alternatives to improve the reactor performance.