Hydrogenation of toluene on fluidized cryogels
Abstract (summary)
The ever-increasing global energy crisis has demanded researchers to develop novel technologies of energy storage. Particularly, in the transport industry, depleting resources and high cost of petroleum are of major concern. One possible solution is to exploit hydroelectric power which can be used to generate hydrogen. The gas is stored using aromatic hydrocarbons in an hydrogenation plant. The resultant alicyclic compound serves as a hydrogen vector and is filled in vehicle tanks. Onboard the vehicle, hydrogen can be recovered by a dehydrogenation reactor and the released gas takes part in a combustion reaction providing sufficient energy to drive the vehicle.
To achieve the aforementioned storage objective, this project envisages the industrial hydrogenation of toluene on highly porous Ni/$\rm Al\sb2O\sb3$ cryogel catalysts. Activity and fluidizability studies were carried out on these powders culminating in the hydrogenation reaction in a specifically designed fluidized bed reactor.
The cryogels used were prepared and characterized at the Chemical Engineering laboratories. Activity tests on Ni/$\rm Al\sb2O\sb3$ catalysts containing varying nickel compositions at two different reaction temperatures, viz., 130$\sp\circ$C and 150$\sp\circ$C, as well as catalyst activation studies have been performed in a fixed bed integral reactor. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Indexing (details)
Industrial engineering
0546: Industrial engineering