Abstract
Vinyl acetylene and 1-butyne are by products in mixed C4 separation processes and they must be eliminated due to their high flammability. However, C4 acetylene can be upgraded to higher value hydrocarbons such as 1,3-butadiene and 1-butene by using selective hydrogenation. In this study, 1- hexyne is selected to be used as a model acetylene compound for liquid phase hydrogenation. Pd catalyst has been successfully utilized in hydrogenation process and several studies have shown that using bimetallic catalyst can greatly improve the activity, selectivity and stability of the catalyst. In this research, the activity and selectivity of Pd-Cu/Al2O3and Pd-W/Al2O3catalysts with Pd/Cu and Pd/W ratios of 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 are investigated for the liquid phase hydrogenation of 1-hexyne under 1.5 bar and 40?C. Catalytic performances of the Pd-W/Al2O3 in selective hydrogenation of 1-hexyne are found to be better has the Pd-Cu/Al2O3. Moreover, Pd-W/Al2O3 catalyst (at Pd to W ratio of 1) shows the optimum activity and selectivity for selective 1-hexyne hydrogenation.
