Ethanol Dehydrogenation with a Palladium Membrane Reactor: An Alternative to Wacker Chemistry.
Raich, B. A.; Foley, Henry C.
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. (1998), 37(10), 3888-3895. Abstract
The use of a palladium membrane to remove hydrogen in conjunction with a catalyst leads to a shift further to the right in the acetaldehyde-forming step before the product can react deleteriously with ethanol, and thereby increase the yield of acetaldehyde substantially over the conventional reactor case. With the membrane, ethanol conversion increased from 60% to nearly 90% with a commensurate rise in selectivity to acetaldehyde from 35% to 70%, moving the yield from 21% to 63%.
Ethanol dehydrogenation catalysts - a developmental approach.
Chhabra, M. S.; Naidu, S. R.
Chem. Ind. Dig. (1996), 9(3), 118-122.
Abstract
Dehydrogenation of EtOH is the most important process in the syntheses of aldehydes, ketones, and esters, since it is used for the manuf. of MeCHO. This article discusses a Cu/SiO2 catalyst developed for this purpose, which can operate at low temps. and does not need any regeneration as it has a long onstream life. The discussion is backed by plant and lab. performance data.