Kinetics of N-ethylcarbazole hydrogenation over a supported Ru catalyst for hydrogen storage

•This reaction is conducted without solvent.•The apparent kinetics model of the hydrogenation is established.•The hydrogenation reaction on the catalyst surfaces is the rate controlling step.•This reaction follows the first-order kinetics.•The apparent activation energy of this reaction is 30.94 kJ/mol.

The hydrogenation kinetics of N-ethylcarbazole over Ru/γ-Al2O3 was investigated to find the rate of controlling step on the mass transfer-reaction processes. The results showed that the kinetics of reaction was controlled by the hydrogenation reaction on the catalyst surfaces. This reaction followed first-order kinetics with an apparent activation energy of 30.94 kJ/mol. The apparent kinetics model of the hydrogenation was established.