Kinetic Studies of Hydrodeoxygenation of Ethyl Ester of Decane Acid over a Ni-Cu-Mo/Al2O3 Catalyst

Abstract

Nickel-based catalysts for hydrodeoxygenation of vegetable oils are an alternative to the systems based on noble metals and sulfide catalysts for hydrotreatment. Modification of the nickel catalysts with molybdenum and copper allows the yield of target products to be increased and the corrosion resistance of the catalytic system to be improved. The studies were aimed at establishing relationships between temperature, contact time and activity of the modified nickel-containing catalyst to hydroxygenation of esters of fatty carboxylic acids, as well as at determining effective kinetic parameters of the reactant consumption. A flow reactor with the fixed catalyst bed was used for experimental studies at РН2 = 0.25 MPa, temperatures 270, 285, 300 and 315 °C, contact time varied from 600 to 1800 s. It was shown that the selectivity to the main reaction products – nonane and decane – did not change upon varying the reaction temperature and contact time. The experimental data were used for determining the effective rate constants and activation energy of the reaction.