Hydrogenation of 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol over a Pd/ZnO catalyst: kinetic model and selectivity study

Abstract

The three-phase hydrogenation of 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol has been studied over a Pd/ZnO catalyst. A Langmuir–Hinshelwood mechanism was applied assuming noncompetitive adsorption between hydrogen and organic molecules on the catalyst active sites. All experimental runs used for the modeling have been obtained in the intrinsic kinetic regime in order to exclude any mass transfer limitation. An optimization procedure allowed the estimation of the kinetic and adsorption parameters governing the process. The results revealed that the proposed model accurately describes the behavior of the system in the typical operating ranges of industrial reactors. The performance of the catalyst in terms of selectivity to 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol and initial activity is found to be higher compared with that of a commercial Lindlar catalyst under the same operating conditions. The mathematical model, successfully validated, is able to accurately predict the selectivity of the process.