Hydrogenation of 2-Ethyl-3-Propylacrolein (EPA) in a Catalytic Reactor: Experimental, Modeling and Simulation

Hydrogenation of 2-Ethyl-3-Propylacrolein (EPA)in a three-phase fixed bed reactor is the most important part of 2-Ethyl-hexanol production in the Oxo process. In this research, hydrogenation of 2-Ethyl-3-Propylacrolein in a three-phase fixed bed reactor was modeling and simulated. The model equations including a set of partial differential equations were solved simultaneously using the method of lines and finite differences technique. The simulation with 80 elements of the hydrogenation reactor has 4.89 percent minimum deviation. Experimental data from laboratory scale reactor was used for evaluation of the hydrogenation reactor simulation results. The effect of operating conditions on 2-ethyl-hexanol yield was investigated in the temperature range of 130-160 oC, pressure range of 16-78 psi, hydrogen flow rate range of 150-220 mL/min, and 2-ethyl-hexenal flow rate in 0.04-0.11 mL/min. The results showed that increasing temperature, pressure, and hydrogen flow rate increases the EPA conversion whereas the variation of 2-ethyl-hexenal flow rate doesn't have any effect on the process yield.