Hydrogenation of Nitrobenzene over a Pd/Al2O3 Catalyst - Mechanism and Effect of the Main Operating Conditions

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2015

Authors

Luís M. Madeira (Author) FEUP; Clara Sá Couto (Author) Other; Clemente Pedro Nunes (Author) Other; Paulo Araújo (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Chemical Engineering and Technology

Vol. 38 No. 9

Pages: 1625-1636

ISSN: 0930-7516

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 4 Citations

ISI Web of Science

Scopus - 12 Citations

Scientific classification

CORDIS: Technological sciences > Engineering > Chemical engineering

FOS: Engineering and technology > Chemical engineering

Associated Projects

LEPABE - Laboratório de Engenharia de Processos, Ambiente, Biotecnologia e Energia

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00G-K1F

DOI: 10.1002/ceat.201400468

Abstract (EN): The catalytic hydrogenation of nitrobenzene (NB) was studied in a three-phase basket reactor with a commercial Pd/Al2O3 sample as catalyst. The kinetic experiments allowed a better understanding of the mechanism behind the formation of aniline (ANL) and by-products, a topic not yet well comprehended. The effect of some operating conditions was studied and the existence of more by-products than mentioned in the literature was stated; specifically, benzene formation was verified. Both the reaction kinetics and selectivity were found to be strongly dependent on the temperature, while the effect of total pressure is not that pronounced. Moreover, the high selectivity of the catalyst used in the present work was proved, and as such the deep hydrogenation of ANL to form by-products only occurs in considerable extension when the NB concentration in the reaction mixture becomes negligible.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 12