Partial hydrogenation of polyunsaturated fatty acid methyl esters over Pd/activated carbon: Effect of type of reactor

Partial hydrogenation of polyunsaturated FAMEs has been investigated on a Pd/C catalyst. The effect of type of reactor: batch and continuous flow reactors, on the FAME composition and properties of a biodiesel product were studied. In addition, many characterization techniques such as XRD, BET, FE-SEM, and CO-chemisorption were used to examine the prepared catalysts. The result showed that the partial hydrogenation of polyunsaturated FAMEs in a batch-type reactor provides higher selectivity towards C18:1 than that of a continuous-flow reactor. However, at the low conversion (78%); selectivity of C18:1 obtained from both types of reactors were almost the same.

► Oxidative stability of biodiesel was improved by partial hydrogenation.
► Type of reactor had an important effect on the conversion and selectivity of C18:1.
► Flow reactor provided hydrogenation rates 4–5 times higher than batch reactor.
► At high conversion, batch reactor provided higher C18:1 selectivity.