Structured reactors for structure-sensitive catalytic reaction

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Three-phase catalytic hydrogenation is one of the most environmentally acceptable reaction routes for numerous applications in the petrochemical, fine chemicals and food industries. To achieve higher product yields and minimize production costs and safety concerns, nano-, micro- and macro-levels of the catalyst design must be considered in an integrated approach in relation to the reactor design. The project objectives are: i) to develop catalytically active nanostructures with predominant exposure of active sites possessing high hydrogenation activity and selectivity (>95%) without the use of hazardous poisons; ii) to produce stable arranged catalysts consisting of the developed nanostructures and arranged supports providing optimal reaction conditions for the best catalyst performance; iii) to design a structured semi-batch reactor with embedded arranged catalyst. The novelty is in establishing a structure-reactivity relationship for a structure-sensitive hydrogenation and in designing a novel structured semi-batch reactor. The project's success will lead to knowledge advancement in the field of structure-sensitive reaction fundamentals and in the area of bridging the materials gap between real catalysts and ideal systems. In the future, such catalysts with the active surface approaching model systems should replace multipurpose conventional catalysts for high value products with low output. The practical significance is that the main project deliverable will be a semi-batch structured reactor for multiphase hydrogenations in fine chemicals production. The long-term objective is to actively contribute to the early success of implementation of three-phase catalytic structured reactors in Canada and worldwide. It is believed the research results and highly qualified personnel training in this area will enable the uptake of such perspective catalytic technologies on an industrial scale.