Hydrogenation of 2-ethyl-2-hexenal to alcohol over nickel-based catalysts: Effects of nickel content and promoter

Abstract

The catalytic hydrogenation of 2-ethyl-2-hexenal (EPA) on a nickel-based catalyst via 2-ethyl-2-hexanal as an intermediate product is one of the step in manufacturing 2-ethylhexanol (EH). In this study, a nickel-based catalyst was synthesized using peptization and impregnation method. The catalyst's performance was examined utilizing a batch reactor adjusted for nickel loading and promoters. The surface area of the synthesized catalysts was around 61.5 – 235.2 m2/g with 76.4 Å pore size and 0.19 mL/g average pore volume. The catalyst was tested in an isothermal batch reactor at 120 °C and 30 bar. The nickel-based catalyst with 53%-Ni loading had the highest catalytic activity, with 100% EPA conversion and 81% EH selectivity. In addition, copper has been demonstrated to be the most effective catalyst promoter. The thermodynamic and kinetic approaches were also used in this investigation.