Deactivation study of Ru‐Sn‐B/Al 2 O 3 catalysts during selective hydrogenation of methyl oleate to fatty alcohol

SÁNCHEZ, MARÍA A.; VICERICH, MARÍA A.; MAZZIERI, VANINA A.; GIORIA, ESTEBAN; GUTIERREZ, LAURA B.; PIECK, CARLOS L.

THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

JOHN WILEY & SONS INC

Año: 2019 vol. 97 p. 2333 - 2339

0008-4034

In this work, the deactivation of the Ru-Sn-B/Al2O3 catalyst prepared by the incipient wetness method in the selective hydrogenation reaction ofmethyl oleate to fatty alcohol was studied. There was a decrease in both the activity and selectivity of fatty alcohol during successive reactionexperiments. The fresh and deactivated catalysts were evaluated by different techniques such as TPR, XPS, TGA, Raman, and FTIR to determine thedeactivation causes. Lower Ru and Sn content were found in the deactivated catalyst due to the loss of the active material during hydrogenationreaction. As the metal loss was more important for Ru than for Sn, the Ru/Sn ratio was changed, leading to a decrease of the selectivity. Moreover, theanalysis of the XPS peak by the deconvolution of Sn species suggests the more active (SnOx) species for selective hydrogenation are more affectedthan the less selective (SnOy). Coke deposition was not observed by Raman and FTIR.