Selective acetylene hydrogenation over core–shell magnetic Pd‐supported catalysts in a magnetically stabilized bed

Abstract

Abstract A novel magnetic microspherical catalyst support with enough mechanical strength was prepared through coating Al 2 O 3 on a magnetic core of NiFe 2 O 4 spinel ferrite using the oil drop method to synthesize magnetic Pd‐supported catalyst for acetylene hydrogenation reaction. The synthesized core–shell composite Pd/Al 2 O 3 catalyst shows high surface area and pore volume as well as sufficient saturated magnetization property, characterized by powder X‐ray diffraction, low‐temperature N 2 adsorption–desorption analysis, and magnetic measurements. Catalytic performance of this magnetic Pd/Al 2 O 3 catalyst was measured for acetylene hydrogenation reaction in a magnetically stabilized bed (MSB) reactor under different operation conditions. Under the optimal conditions of 353 K, 1.5 MPa and a gas hourly space velocity of 12,000 h −1 , C 2 H 2 conversion and C 2 H 4 selectivity approximated 100% and 84%, respectively, over this magnetic Pd/Al 2 O 3 catalyst in the MSB reactor, as a control over the commercial catalyst for hydrogenation reaction C 2 H 2 conversion and C 2 H 4 selectivity was near 37 and 64% under the similar conditions. Significant improvement of acetylene hydrogenation processes over this novel magnetic catalyst enlightens us a promising route to explore process intensification techniques through MSB. © 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2008