HYDROGENATION WITHOUT GASES

Abstract

BY SIMULTANEOUSLY GENERating both hydrogen and supercritical carbon dioxide, a new continuous hydrogenation process avoids the problems of handling gases under pressure. Developed by chemists at the University of Nottingham, in England, the gasless laboratory technology relies on the decomposition of liquid formic acid, HCO 2 H, over a heated platinum or palladium catalyst at 450°C in a miniature reactor. resulting H 2 and supercritical CO 2 are mixed with the material to be hydrogenated, then passed over a noblemetal catalyst in a second reactor. The gasless equipment is simple to use and eliminates the need for high-pressure gas cylinders, says chemistry professor Martyn Poliakoff, who developed the process with postdoc Jason R. Hyde [ Chem. Commun. , published online May 27, http://www. rsc.org/is/journals/current/chemcomm/ccadvarts.htm]. Decomposition of HCO 2 H yields H 2 and CO 2 in a 1:1 ratio. Feeding liquid ethyl formate, HCO 2 C 2 H 5 , into the first reactor, where it decomposes to CO 2 ...