Sunflower oil hydrogenation in single-phase conditions: combined theoretical and experimental study in Pd particle size effect

C. PIQUERAS; I. COSTILLA; P. BELELLI; N CASTELLANI; D. DAMIANI

Turku / Åbo, Finland.

Congreso; Europacat VIII; 2007

  The conventional hydrogenation is usually carried out in gas–liquid mixture. The reaction is controlled by the availability of hydrogen at the catalyst surface, which is limited by both, the low solubility of hydrogen and the high mass transfer resistance of the liquid phase. In these conditions, the diffusion control mask the real process carried out at the surface and the reaction seems to be insensitive to the catalyst design. The use of supercritical fluids can overcome the diffusion and solubility control steps by elimination of the gas–liquid interface bringing the reactive mixture into a homogeneous phase, increasing the rate to gas-like reaction rates. In the present work, several Pd-Al2O3 catalysts with different metal particle size were tested. Using propane as supercritical solvent, the reactions were carried out in a homogeneous phase searching for better cis isomers selectivity and looking for a possible structure sensitivity of the reaction. In conjunction a theoretical study of the FTIR of CO adsorption was carried out to give a support to the experimental observation.