Liquid-phase selective hydrogenation of acetylene with the feed composition of front-end process
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The selective hydrogenation process is industrially used to remove trace acetylene from ethylene-rich streams. In this work, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) was introduced as a liquid phase to the front-end hydrogenation process, using Pd/SiO2 as a model catalyst, to improve the selectivity to ethylene. In the liquid-phase hydrogenation, a high ethylene selectivity of ~80% was obtained at an acetylene conversion of 99.69% using two reactors in serious. In contrast, the ethylene selectivity was only ~40% in the gas phase at a similar acetylene conversion of 99.76%. The superiority of the liquid-phase hydrogenation was attributed to the extremely low ratios of C2H4/C2H2 (b) and H2/C2H2 (g) and low concentration of C2H4 in NMP. In addition, the liquid phase can prevent ethylene loss even at higher reaction temperatures. Catalyst stability in the liquid-phase hydrogenation was studied to identify optimal operating conditions. Lower acetylene concentration and higher hydrogen concentration, which can be adjusted by varying temperature and pressure, were found to favor catalyst stability.
Source: Carbon Future
Authors: Zhenyu Kang, Xiaocheng Lan, Tiefeng Wang
Institutions: Tsinghua University, Ordos Laboratory
Language: English
Subfield: Organic Chemistry
Field: Chemistry
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Awards: G392049068, G5743845165
OpenAlex ID: W4409275023