A study of the electrochemical hydrogenation of o-xylene in a PEM hydrogenation reactor

In this study, we investigate the electrochemical hydrogenation of o-xylene in a proton exchange membrane hydrogenation reactor (PEMHR). The reactor was operated isothermally over the temperature range 20–68 °C and at a pressure of 1 atm in a semi-batch mode. Hydrogen was fed into the anode compartment and o-xylene into the cathode. The hydrogenation efficiency was investigated at different current densities and temperatures. Results obtained show that the hydrogenation efficiency increases with temperature but decreases with current density. At low current densities the hydrogenation efficiency approaches 100%. A zero dimensional model was used to fit the data and extract a rate constant for the hydrogenation reaction. The activation energy for this reaction was found to be 28 kJ/mole.