Experimental study on operating conditions of 2-ethylhexanol manufacturing process

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this work, hydrogenation of 2-ethyl-3-propylacrolein (EPA) was investigated experimentally using a laboratory-scale plug flow reactor. In this process, 2-ethylhexanol was synthesized using a EPA aldehyde in the presence of vinylpyruvate hydratase catalyst. Next, the effects of operating conditions including temperature, pressure, and species flow rates on its performance were studied within temperature and pressure ranges of 110–160°C and 1–6 bars, respectively. The hydrogen and EPA flow rates were measured to be 150–240 ml/h and 0.03–0.11 ml/h, respectively. The results showed that the optimum yield of 2-ethylhexanol production is achieved at a temperature of 155°C, the pressure of 4.4 bars, and hydrogen flow rate of 192.4 ml/min. Using optimum operating conditions, the process yield was 99.86%, with hydrogen flow rate identified as the most effective parameter on the process yield.