Boreskov Institute of Catalysis of the Siberian Branch of Russian ...

PP-V-2DIRECT OILS HYDROGENATION TO ALCOHOLS ANDHYDROCARBONSN.V. Shtertser, D.E. Babushkin, A.A. KhassinBoreskov Institute of Catalysis, Prosp. Ac. Lavrentieva, 5, 630090, Novosibirsk, RussiaFax: +7-383-3308056; E-mail: nat@catalysis.ruNovosibirsk State University, ul. Pirogova, 2, 630090, Novosibirsk, RussiaFax: +7-383-3302237The processing of natural oils consisting of triglycerides is a topical problem at thepresent time, due to the need to obtain renewable sources of fuel and important chemicals.One such product is fatty alcohol which is used as a solvent, detergent, and foam inhibitor andas an additive to motor fuels.The most investigated method of fatty alcohol production is the hydrogenation of lowermolecular alkyl esters of fatty acids, obtained by the trans-esterification of naturaltriglycerides or by the esterification of the fatty acids obtained by the hydrolysis of thesetriglycerides [1]. In the 1990s Shell Oil and Henkel published patents relating to coppercontainingcatalysts for the direct processing of triglycerides to alcohols [2, 3]. Each of themdisplays very high conversion to fatty alcohols (about 90% of the theoretical) and highselectivity for 1,2-propanediol (of approximately 90% of the theoretical) and 10% of highmolecularproducts.In this work the reaction of tristearin (glyceryl tristearate) hydrogenolysis was carried outin a fixed-bed gas reactor at a hydrogen pressure of about 2 MPa in the temperature range280-350 °C. A permeable porous membrane was used to increase the gas-liquid interface formore effective saturation of the gas phase with reactant vapors. The hydrogen bubbledthrough this membrane in the oil vessel. By introducing a catalyst into the membrane thehydrogenation process may be carried out using the membrane itself as a reactor. In theliterature there are several examples of using membranes, containing the appropriate catalyst,in such a way for carrying out three-phase processes [4-6].The authors of the above patents [2, 3] used copper-zinc catalysts (in the patent to Shell arare earth promoter was introduced to the catalyst composition). At the same time theprecursor structure affects the catalytic properties of copper particles in the hydrogenation anddehydrogenation reactions [7, 8]. For example specific activity of oxide catalysts in themethanol synthesis increases according to the sequence: CuCr < CuSi < CuZnSi ≈ CuZnAl(spinel structure)