Development of a multi-layer microreactor: Application to the selective hydrogenation of 1-butyne

• A multi-layer microreactor was designed to study the selective hydrogenation of BY.
• The microreactor operates without restrictions on the transport of heat and mass.
• Various microreactor configurations were tested.
• The results achieved in the microreactor were contrasted with those obtained in a conventional fixed bed reactor.

A multi-layer microreactor (MR) was especially developed to assess the effects of the intensification of liquid-phase selective hydrogenation of 1-butyne (BY). The behavior of the system is described and the results of the regression of experimental data are reported. Various MR configurations, differentiated by the number of catalyst layers were constructed. A commercial Pd/Al2O3 catalyst, crushed and sieved to 37–44 μm particle size, has been tested. The reaction was carried out in liquid phase, at three levels of temperature (35, 44 and 60 °C), and covering a range of hydrogen partial pressure of 1.2–5 bar. The kinetic expression used to analyze the experimental data was based on an elementary step mechanism. Fitting of the kinetic parameters allowed to reproduce the experimental results within an average deviation of 3.7%. The results presented in this study are compared to experimental data obtained previously on the same commercial catalyst, but using the original 2.3 mm spherical pellets packed in a conventional fixed bed reactor (FBR). It is concluded from such a comparison that the measurements carried out in the MR are free from diffusion limitations and that the evaluation of such effects in the FBR was satisfactorily performed.