Liquid-phase selective hydrogenation of acetylene with the feed composition of front-end process

The selective hydrogenation process is industrially used to remove trace acetylene from ethylene-rich streams. In this work, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) was introduced as a liquid phase to the front-end hydrogenation process, with using Pd/SiO2 as a model catalyst, to improve the selectivity to eth...

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Main Authors: Zhenyu Kang, Xiaocheng Lan, Tiefeng Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Tsinghua University Press 2025-06-01
Series:Carbon Future
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Online Access:https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/CF.2025.9200043
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author Zhenyu Kang
Xiaocheng Lan
Tiefeng Wang
author_facet Zhenyu Kang
Xiaocheng Lan
Tiefeng Wang
author_sort Zhenyu Kang
collection DOAJ
description The selective hydrogenation process is industrially used to remove trace acetylene from ethylene-rich streams. In this work, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) was introduced as a liquid phase to the front-end hydrogenation process, with using Pd/SiO2 as a model catalyst, to improve the selectivity to ethylene. In the liquid-phase hydrogenation, a high ethylene selectivity of ~ 80% was obtained at an acetylene conversion of 99.69% by using two reactors in series. In contrast, the ethylene selectivity was only ~ 40% in the gas phase at a similar acetylene conversion of 99.76%. The superiority of the liquid-phase hydrogenation was attributed to the extremely low ratios of C2H4/C2H2 (β) and H2/C2H2 (γ) and low concentration of C2H4 in NMP. In addition, the liquid phase can prevent ethylene loss even at higher reaction temperatures. Catalyst stability in the liquid-phase hydrogenation was studied to identify optimal operating conditions. Lower acetylene concentration and higher hydrogen concentration, which can be adjusted by varying temperature and pressure, were found to favor catalyst stability.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2960-0561
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language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
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record_format Article
series Carbon Future
spelling doaj-art-e7644bf56743481b95b92d1525c6d88c2025-08-20T03:30:19ZengTsinghua University PressCarbon Future2960-05612960-04212025-06-0122920004310.26599/CF.2025.9200043Liquid-phase selective hydrogenation of acetylene with the feed composition of front-end processZhenyu Kang0Xiaocheng Lan1Tiefeng Wang2Beijing Key Laboratory of Green Reaction Engineering and Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaOrdos Laboratory, Ordos 017010, ChinaOrdos Laboratory, Ordos 017010, ChinaThe selective hydrogenation process is industrially used to remove trace acetylene from ethylene-rich streams. In this work, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) was introduced as a liquid phase to the front-end hydrogenation process, with using Pd/SiO2 as a model catalyst, to improve the selectivity to ethylene. In the liquid-phase hydrogenation, a high ethylene selectivity of ~ 80% was obtained at an acetylene conversion of 99.69% by using two reactors in series. In contrast, the ethylene selectivity was only ~ 40% in the gas phase at a similar acetylene conversion of 99.76%. The superiority of the liquid-phase hydrogenation was attributed to the extremely low ratios of C2H4/C2H2 (β) and H2/C2H2 (γ) and low concentration of C2H4 in NMP. In addition, the liquid phase can prevent ethylene loss even at higher reaction temperatures. Catalyst stability in the liquid-phase hydrogenation was studied to identify optimal operating conditions. Lower acetylene concentration and higher hydrogen concentration, which can be adjusted by varying temperature and pressure, were found to favor catalyst stability.https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/CF.2025.9200043selective hydrogenationethylene purificationfront-endliquid phasecatalyst stability
spellingShingle Zhenyu Kang
Xiaocheng Lan
Tiefeng Wang
Liquid-phase selective hydrogenation of acetylene with the feed composition of front-end process
Carbon Future
selective hydrogenation
ethylene purification
front-end
liquid phase
catalyst stability
title Liquid-phase selective hydrogenation of acetylene with the feed composition of front-end process
title_full Liquid-phase selective hydrogenation of acetylene with the feed composition of front-end process
title_fullStr Liquid-phase selective hydrogenation of acetylene with the feed composition of front-end process
title_full_unstemmed Liquid-phase selective hydrogenation of acetylene with the feed composition of front-end process
title_short Liquid-phase selective hydrogenation of acetylene with the feed composition of front-end process
title_sort liquid phase selective hydrogenation of acetylene with the feed composition of front end process
topic selective hydrogenation
ethylene purification
front-end
liquid phase
catalyst stability
url https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/CF.2025.9200043
work_keys_str_mv AT zhenyukang liquidphaseselectivehydrogenationofacetylenewiththefeedcompositionoffrontendprocess
AT xiaochenglan liquidphaseselectivehydrogenationofacetylenewiththefeedcompositionoffrontendprocess
AT tiefengwang liquidphaseselectivehydrogenationofacetylenewiththefeedcompositionoffrontendprocess