Structured reactors for structure-sensitive catalytic reaction

三相催化加氢是石油化工、精细化工和食品工业中最环保的反应路线之一。为了实现更高的产品收率和最小化生产成本和安全问题，必须在与反应器设计相关的综合方法中考虑催化剂设计的纳米、微米和宏观水平。 该项目的目标是： i）在不使用有害毒物的情况下，开发具有高氢化活性和选择性（>95%）的活性位点的主要暴露的催化活性纳米结构; ii）生产由所开发的纳米结构和排列的载体组成的稳定的排列的催化剂，为最佳催化剂性能提供最佳反应条件; iii）设计具有嵌入布置的催化剂的结构化半间歇式反应器。 新颖之处在于建立了结构敏感加氢反应的结构-反应性关系，并设计了一种新型结构化半间歇反应器。该项目的成功将导致结构敏感反应基础领域的知识进步，以及弥合真实的催化剂和理想体系之间的材料差距。在未来，这类催化剂的活性表面接近模型系统，应取代多用途的传统催化剂的高价值的产品与低产量。实际意义在于，主要项目交付成果将是用于精细化工生产中多相加氢的半间歇结构反应器。长期目标是积极促进在加拿大和全世界早日成功实施三相催化结构反应堆。相信该领域的研究成果和高素质的人才培训将使这种前景催化技术在工业规模上的吸收成为可能。

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.