Kieselguhr catalyst

Nickel catalysts (a), Raney type. The Raney Catalyst Division and the Davison Chemical Division of W. R. Grace and Co. supply an identical 50% sponge nickel catalyst prepared by the method of Raney by leaching 1 1 nickel-aluminum alloy with alkali. The catalyst is similar to the W-catalysts described in the next section. Harshaw Chem. Co. supplies similar nickel catalysts. Universal Oil Products Co. catalyst kieselguhr pellets are reduced with hydrogen and pulverized before use (.see Org. Syn., Coll. Vol., 3,278 (1955). 

The quality of the kieselguhr (diatomaceous earth) is of importance for the behavior of the cobalt catalyst. Kieselguhr of different origin resulted in catalysts of different activity. Ruhrchemie therefore investigated the reasons for the different behavior and issued standards for kieselguhr. The preliminary thermal treatment should be carried out... 

A study of the product selectivites of variously supported Co catalysts (kieselguhr, silica, alumina, bentonite, Y-zeolite, mordenite, and ZSM-5) was carried out by Bessel (37). AAdiereas the lower acidity supports such as silica and alumina produced mainly linear hydrocarbons, the acidic supports produced more branched products. At higher temperatures, the latter produced aromatics as well. The isomerization and aromatization are secondary, acid-promoted reactions of the FT olefins. This is then equivalent to a combination of the FT and the Mobil olefins to gasoline process. (With iron-based catalysts, this approach is unlikely to be successful because alkali promotion is essential and the alkali would neutralize the required acid sites on the zeolite support.) Calleja and coworkers (38) studied the FT performance of Co/HZSM-5 prepared by incipient wetness impregnation. Promotion with thorium, being basic, decreased the acidity of the zeolite and so less aromatics were formed and consequently more of the heavier hydrocarbons emerged from the reactor because of the depressed level of secondary reactions. 

The classic catalyst consists of Co-Th02-MgO mixtures supported on Kieselguhr (see Ref. 269) group VIII metals, especially Ni, generally are active,... 

Benzene-Based Catalyst Technology. The catalyst used for the conversion of ben2ene to maleic anhydride consists of supported vanadium oxide [11099-11-9]. The support is an inert oxide such as kieselguhr, alumina [1344-28-17, or sUica, and is of low surface area (142). Supports with higher surface area adversely affect conversion of benzene to maleic anhydride. The conversion of benzene to maleic anhydride is a less complex oxidation than the conversion of butane, so higher catalyst selectivities are obtained. The vanadium oxide on the surface of the support is often modified with molybdenum oxides. There is approximately 70% vanadium oxide and 30% molybdenum oxide [11098-99-0] in the active phase for these fixed-bed catalysts (143). The molybdenum oxide is thought to form either a soUd solution or compound oxide with the vanadium oxide and result in a more active catalyst (142). 

Isopropylnaphthalenes can be prepared readily by the catalytic alkylation of naphthalene with propjiene. 2-lsopropylnaphthalene [2027-17-0] is an important intermediate used in the manufacture of 2-naphthol (see Naphthalenederivatives). The alkylation of naphthalene with propjiene, preferably in an inert solvent at 40—100°C with an aluminum chloride, hydrogen fluoride, or boron trifluoride—phosphoric acid catalyst, gives 90—95% wt % 2-isopropylnaphthalene however, a considerable amount of polyalkylate also is produced. Preferably, the propylation of naphthalene is carried out in the vapor phase in a continuous manner, over a phosphoric acid on kieselguhr catalyst under pressure at ca 220—250°C. The alkylate, which is low in di- and polyisopropylnaphthalenes, then is isomerized by recycling over the same catalyst at 240°C or by using aluminum chloride catalyst at 80°C. After distillation, a product containing >90 wt % 2-isopropylnaphthalene is obtained (47). 

Phosphates are the principal catalysts used in polymerization units the commercially used catalysts are Hquid phosphoric acid, phosphoric acid on kieselguhr, copper pyrophosphate pellets, and phosphoric acid film on quartz. The last is the least active and has the disadvantage that carbonaceous deposits must occasionally be burned off the support. Compared to other processes, the one using Hquid phosphoric acid catalyst is far more responsive to attempts to raise production by increasing temperature. 

Currently, almost all cumene is produced commercially by two processes ( /) a fixed-bed, kieselguhr-supported phosphoric acid catalyst system developed by UOP and (2) a homogeneous AlCl and hydrogen chloride catalyst system developed by Monsanto. 

Dicyclohexylarnine may be selectively generated by reductive alkylation of cyclohexylamine by cyclohexanone (15). Stated batch reaction conditions are specifically 0.05—2.0% Pd or Pt catalyst, which is reusable, pressures of 400—700 kPa (55—100 psi), and temperatures of 75—100°C to give complete reduction in 4 h. Continuous vapor-phase amination selective to dicyclohexylarnine is claimed for cyclohexanone (16) or mixed cyclohexanone plus cyclohexanol (17) feeds. Conditions are 5—15 s contact time of <1 1 ammonia ketone, - 3 1 hydrogen ketone at 260°C over nickel on kieselguhr. With mixed feed the preferred conditions over a mixed copper chromite plus nickel catalyst are 18-s contact time at 250 °C with ammonia alkyl = 0.6 1 and hydrogen alkyl = 1 1. 

Isomerization of sorbitol, D-mannitol, L-iditol, and dulcitol occurs in aqueous solution in the presence of hydrogen under pressure and a nickel—kieselguhr catalyst at 130—190°C (160). In the case of the first three, a quasiequiUbrium composition is obtained regardless of starting material. Equilibrium concentrations are 41.4% sorbitol, 31.5% D-mannitol, 26.5% L-iditol, and 0.6% dulcitol. In the presence of the same catalyst, the isohexides estabUsh an equihbrium at 220—240°C and 15.2 MPa (150 atm) of hydrogen pressure, having the composition 57% isoidide, 36% isosorbide, and 7% isomannide (161). 

Supports. The principal component of a typical catalyst is the porous support (49,50). Most supports are robust soHds that can be made with wide ranges of surface areas and pore size distributions. The most widely appHed supports are metal oxides others are carbon, kieselguhr, organic polymers, and zeoHtes. 

Hydrogenation. Hydrogenation is one of the oldest and most widely used appHcations for supported catalysts, and much has been written in this field (55—57). Metals useflil in hydrogenation include cobalt, copper, nickel, palladium, platinum, rhenium, rhodium, mthenium, and silver, and there are numerous catalysts available for various specific appHcations. Most hydrogenation catalysts rely on extremely fine dispersions of the active metal on activated carbon, alumina, siHca-alumina, 2eoHtes, kieselguhr, or inert salts, such as barium sulfate. 

For more selective hydrogenations, supported 5—10 wt % palladium on activated carbon is preferred for reductions in which ring hydrogenation is not wanted. Mild conditions, a neutral solvent, and a stoichiometric amount of hydrogen are used to avoid ring hydrogenation. There are also appHcations for 35—40 wt % cobalt on kieselguhr, copper chromite (nonpromoted or promoted with barium), 5—10 wt % platinum on activated carbon, platinum (IV) oxide (Adams catalyst), and rhenium heptasulfide. Alcohol yields can sometimes be increased by the use of nonpolar (nonacidic) solvents and small amounts of bases, such as tertiary amines, which act as catalyst inhibitors. 

Palladium and platinum (5—10 wt % on activated carbon) can be used with a variety of solvents as can copper carbonate on siHca and 60 wt % nickel on kieselguhr. The same is tme of nonsupported catalysts copper chromite, rhenium (VII) sulfide, rhenium (VI) oxide, and any of the Raney catalysts, copper, iron, or nickel. 

In this process liquid propylene, containing some propane, is mixed with benzene and passed through a reaction tower containing phosphoric acid on kieselguhr as catalyst. The reaction is exothermic and the propane present acts as a quench medium. A small quantity of water is injected into the reactor to... 

In the vapor-phase process, the reaction temperature and pressure are approximately 250°C and 40 atmospheres. Phosphoric acid on Kieselguhr is a commonly used catalyst. To limit polyalkylation, a mixture of propene-propane feed is used. Propylene can be as low as 40% of the feed mixture. A high benzene/propylene ratio is also used to decrease polyalkylation. A selectivity of about 97% based on benzene can be obtained. 

Kinetics. Extensive studies of the kinetics of methane synthesis were reported by White and co-workers (10,11, 12, 13, 14, 15). They studied the reaction between CO and hydrogen over a reduced nickel catalyst on kieselguhr at 1 atm and 300°-350°C (10). They correlated the rate of methane formation by the equation ... 

Nickel. As a methanation catalyst, nickel is presently preeminent. It is relatively cheap, it is very active, and it is the most selective to methane of all the metals. Its main drawback is that it is easily poisoned by sulfur, a fault common to all the known active methanation catalysts. The nickel content of commercial nickel catalysts is 25-77 wt %. Nickel is dispersed on a high-surface-area, refractory support such as alumina or kieselguhr. Some supports inhibit the formation of carbon by Reaction 4. Chromia-supported nickel has been studied by Czechoslovakian and Russian investigators. 

The reaction scheme is rather complex also in the case of the oxidation of o-xylene (41a, 87a), of the oxidative dehydrogenation of n-butenes over bismuth-molybdenum catalyst (87b), or of ethylbenzene on aluminum oxide catalysts (87c), in the hydrogenolysis of glucose (87d) over Ni-kieselguhr or of n-butane on a nickel on silica catalyst (87e), and in the hydrogenation of succinimide in isopropyl alcohol on Ni-Al2Oa catalyst (87f) or of acetophenone on Rh-Al203 catalyst (87g). Decomposition of n-and sec-butyl acetates on synthetic zeolites accompanied by the isomerization of the formed butenes has also been the subject of a kinetic study (87h). 

Arnett, R.L. and Buell, B.O. Magnetic separator for removing nickel-on-kieselguhr catalyst from conjugated diene solutions. US Patent (1956) 2,760,638. 

The catalysts used in these experiments included those already employed in the infrared measurements in addition to some others. The results are presented in Tables VI and VII along with some older measurements on Raney-nickel and a nickel-on-kieselguhr catalyst. These older measurements are slightly less accurate because the cyclohexane content of the reaction product was determined by mass spectrometry. The surface area of catalyst E was not determined hence, its reaction rates per unit of surface area could not be calculated. 

Early work at the Bureau of Mines on Co/Th02/kieselguhr catalysts showed that bulk carbide was not an intermediate in the FTS, nor was it catalytically active.82 Excessive amounts of carbides, produced by CO exposure prior to the... 

Sexton, B., Hughes, A., and Turney, T. 1986. An XPS and TPR study of the reduction of promoted cobalt-kieselguhr Fischer-Tropsch catalysts. J. Catal. 97 390 -06. 

FIGURE 9.18 Influence of pressure on reaction rate, olefin content in the C3 fraction, and methane selectivity with cobalt as the catalyst for FT synthesis. Catalyst 100Co-18Th02-100 Si02 (Kieselguhr), H2/CO = 1.8, 175°C. 

Since cobalt on kieselguhr in one of the original Fischer-Tropsch catalysts (1-9), it appeared attractive to investigate the catalytic activity of cobalt complexes immobilized on polystyrene. Although there are many supported cobalt-based Fischer-Tropsch catalysts known (see, for example, references 18-21), no polystyrene-bound systems had been reported. During the course of our work 18% (22,60,61) and 20% (23) crosslinked analogs of CpCo(C0)2 were shown to exhibit limited catalytic activity but no CO reduction. A preliminary disclosure of our work has appeared (2)4). 

Further examples are furnished by the spectra of Figs. 10 and 11. A single pellet of virgin catalyst ( 7 x 10mm) was placed in a cell (Fig. 2) and degassed at room temperature, and spectrum S2 was recorded (the main spectral features are the strong absorptions of the kieselguhr support, but some sulfate absorptions can also be discerned). The catalyst was then exposed to 90 torr of SO2 at room temperature and spectrum was recorded with SO2 in the cell, when new features appeared. 

The silica carrier of a sulphuric acid catalyst, which has a relatively low surface area, serves as an inert support for the melt. It must be chemically resistant to the very corrosive pyrosulphate melt and the pore structure of the carrier should be designed for optimum melt distribution and minimum pore diffusion restriction. Diatomaceous earth or synthetic silica may be used as the silica raw material for carrier production. The diatomaceous earth, which is also referred to as diatomite or kieselguhr, is a siliceous, sedimentary rock consisting principally of the fossilised skeletal remains of the diatom, which is a unicellular aquatic plant related to the algae. The supports made from diatomaceous earth, which may be pretreated by calcination or flux-calcination, exhibit bimodal pore size distributions due to the microstructure of the skeletons, cf. Fig. 5. 

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