A high performance multi-walled carbon nanotube-supported palladium catalyst in selective hydrogenation of acetylene-ethylene mixtures

• Published in: Applied catalysis. A, General General, 2011-05, Vol.399 (1), p.184-190
• Main Authors: Bazzazzadegan, H., Kazemeini, M., Rashidi, A.M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetylene; Carbon; Catalysis; Chemistry; Ethylene; Ethylene yield; Exact sciences and technology; General and physical chemistry; Hydrogenation; Multi-walled carbon nanotube; Nanocatalyst; Nanocomposites; Nanomaterials; Nanostructure; Palladium; Selective hydrogenation; Theory of reactions, general kinetics. Catalysis. Nomenclature, chemical documentation, computer chemistry
• ISSN: 0926-860X; 1873-3875
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apcata.2011.03.055

[Display omitted] ► 0.5% pd/MWCNT displayed 93% ethylene yield in selective hydrogenation of acetylene. ► By temperature rising, ethylene selectivity and acetylene conversion were enhanced. ► At elevated temperatures, hydrogenation in tail-end process occurs in a single reactor. ► Suppressing of oligomers and displaying high stability are features of this catalyst. ► Hydrogen transfer mechanism plays an essential role over Pd/MWCNT catalyst. In this research, a palladium nanocatalyst was synthesised over a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) support and then applied for selective hydrogenation of acetylene in an ethylene-richflow stream. This material displayed a very promising selectivity toward ethylene production with increasing temperature, and also suppressed oligomer formation during acetylene hydrogenation. New operating conditions for selective hydrogenation of acetylene in an ethylene-richflow were introduced. This nanocatalyst gave a considerably higher yield, as high as 93%, than that previously obtained for ethylene production. It was postulated that the governing mechanism for acetylene hydrogenation over 0.5 wt.% Pd/MWCNT was hydrogen transfer.