Development of structured reactors for transformation of biomass components to high-value products - green process industry


Development of structured reactors for transformation of biomass components to high-value products - green process industry

Salmi, T.; Shumilov, V. V.; Eränen, K.; Kumar, N.; Hupa, L.; Murzin, D.; Boden, S.; Schubert, M.; Hampel, U.; Sulman, E.

Transformation of biomass components to high-value products used in industry over structured catalysts is the idea behind this project. Synthesis of 5-Methyl-1-Hydroxyethyl-2-Pyrrolidone by reductive amination of ethyl levulinate using 3-aminopropanol as the alkyl amine in the presence of hydrogen was performed. Reactor which uses porous ceramic monolith as a catalytic carrier was studied.

For the development of a new catalytic system, alumina was chosen as a carrier material and sponge replica technique was used for its production. Porous ceramics with different pore types and sizes are widely applied in chemical industry. The unique properties of porous materials allow to carry out a spectrum of well-established and recent applications, such as molten metal filtration, catalysis, refractory and thermal insulation, hot gas filtration. Porous form is perfect for heterogeneous catalysis because of high surface area, which enables liquid (or gas) to contact the catalyst intensively.

Alpha-Alumina is a strong material the surface area of which is low and so to enlarge surface area covering of the foam with a layer of gamma-alumina which has a much bigger surface area was performed.

Two methods of gamma-alumina coating were performed. One of them is covering alpha-alumina frame with gamma-alumina slurry. This method is limited by the pore size, as the smallest pores will be blocked after slurry adding. The second method is a hot water solution deposition where sedimentation of gamma-alumina from its salt takes place.

Pt and Ru in the form of nanoparticles were successfully deposited on the surface of the porous structure. Catalysts were characterized by nitrogen desorption, SEM, EDXA, TEM and other methods. Reactor represents a tube with a diameter about 20 mm and length about 350 mm into which porous catalyst is placed.

Reductive amination of ethyl levulinate using 3-aminopropanol as the alkyl amine which was performed. Ethyl levulinate is a product of levulinic acid transformation. Levulinic acid is a well-known precursor for pharmaceuticals, plasticizers and other additives. It is a building block or starting material for a wide range of compounds.

  • Poster
    10th International Symposium on Catalysis in Multiphase Reactors and Multifunctional Reactors, 07.-10.07.2017, Qingdao, China

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Publ.-Id: 25875