Adsorption/reaction energetics measured by microcalorimetry and correlated with reactivity on supported catalysts: A review

The formations and transformations of the chemical bonds of reactants and intermediates on cata- lyst surfaces occur in conjunction with the evolution of heat during catalytic reactions. Measure- ment of this evolved heat is helpful in terms of understanding the nature of the interactions be- tween the catalyst and the adsorbed species, and provides insights into the reactivity of the catalyst. Although various techniques have previously been applied to assessments of evolved heat, direct measurements using a Tian-Calvet microcalorimeter are currently the most reliable method for this purpose. In this review, we summarize the relationship between the adsorption/reaction energetics determined by microcalorimetry and the reactivities of supported catalysts, and examine the im- portant role of microcalorimetry in understanding catalytic performance from the energetic point of view.

Kinetic studies on the dimerization of isobutene with Ni/Al_2O_3 as a catalyst for reactive distillation process

Isooctane is a promising gasoline additive that could be produced by dimerization of isobutene(IB) with subsequent hydrogenation.In this work,the dimerization of IB has been carried out in a batch reactor over a temperature range of 338-383 K in the presence of laboratory prepared Ni/Al_2O_3 as a catalyst and n-pentane as solvent.The influence of various parameters such as temperature,catalyst loading and initial concentration of IB was examined.A Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic model of IB dimerization was established and the parameters were estimated on the basis of the measured data.The feasibility of oligomerization of IB based on the reactive distillation was simulated in ASPEN PLUS using the kinetics developed.The simulation results showed that the catalyst of Ni/Al_2O_3 had higher selectivity to diisobutene(DIB) and slightly lower conversion of IB than ion exchange resin in the absence of polar substances.

Production of glycerol carbonate via reactive distillation and extractive distillation: An experimental study

A process for the production of glycerol carbonate(GC) is proposed with the transesterification of glycerol(GL)and dimethyl carbonate(DMC) with CaO as catalyst by reactive distillation and extractive distillation. The performance of solvents in separating DMC-methanol azeotrope and the effects of operation parameters on the reactive distillation process are investigated experimentally. The results indicate that both the GL conversion and GC yield increase with the DMC/GL molar ratio, reflux ratio, final temperature of tower bottom, and CaO/GL molar ratio and decrease as the recycle number of CaO increases. The calcium concentration in the residual reaction mixture also decreases remarkably as the DMC/GL molar ratio increases. At DMC/GL molar ratio 4.0, reflux ratio 1.0, final temperature of tower bottom 358 K, and CaO/GL molar ratio 0.05, both the GL conversion and GC yield can reach above 99.0%, and the mass concentration of calcium in the product is less than 0.08%.