A carbon supported Pd catalyst is used in the liquid phase hydrogenation of the aromatic cyanohydrin mandelonitrile (C6H5CH(OH)CH2CN) to afford the primary amine phenethylamine (C6H5CH2CH2NH2).

Tyramine hydrogen sulphate is produced via the heterogeneously catalysed selective hydrogenation of 4-hydroxybenzyl cyanide within a three-phase reactor.

No abstract

The liquid phase hydrogenation of benzonitrile over a 5 wt % Pd/C catalyst using a stirred autoclave is investigated. The reaction conforms to a consecutive reaction sequence: first benzonitrile is hydrogenated to produce benzylamine, which subsequently undergoes a hydrogenolysis step to form toluene. Benzonitrile hydrogenation obeys first-order kinetics with an activation energy of 27.6 kJ mol–1. In contrast, the benzylamine hydrogenolysis stage obeys zero-order kinetics and exhibits an activation energy of 80.1 kJ mol–1. A 1 wt % Pd/Al2O3 catalyst is additionally examined, which is also seen to support hydrogenolysis activity alongside the hydrogenation pathway. Gas phase transmission infrared spectroscopic measurements of the hydrogenation of benzonitrile and benzylamine over the 1 wt % Pd/Al2O3 catalyst utilizing hydrogen and deuterium are undertaken, which enable reaction schemes incorporating adsorption geometries of intermediate adsorption complexes to be proposed.

The liquid-phase hydrogenation of the aromatic cyanohydrin mandelonitrile (MN, C 6 H 5 CH(OH)CN) over a carbon-supported Pd catalyst to produce the primary amine phenethylamine (PEA, C 6 H 5 CH 2 CH 2 NH 2 ) is investigated with respect to the transition from operation in single-batch mode to repeat-batch mode. While a single-batch reaction returns a complete mass balance, product analysis alongside mass balance measurements for a six-addition repeat-batch procedure shows an attenuation in the rate of product formation and an incomplete mass balance from the fourth addition onward. This scenario potentially hinders possible commercial operation of the phenethylamine synthesis process, so it is investigated further. With reference to a previously reported reaction scheme, the prospects of sustained catalytic performance are examined in terms of acid concentration, stirrer agitation rate, catalyst mass, and hydrogen availability. Gas−liquid mass transfer coefficient measurements indicate efficient gas → liquid transfer kinetics within the experimental constraints of the Henry's law limitation on hydrogen solubility in the process solvent (methanol). Deviations from the optimized product selectivity are attributed to mass transport constraints, specifically the H 2 (solv) → 2H(ads) transition, which is ultimately restrained by the availability of H 2 (solv). Finally, in an attempt to better understand the deactivation pathways, inelastic neutron scattering measurements on a comparable industrial-grade catalyst operated in an analogous reaction in fed-batch mode indicate the presence of an oligomeric overlayer postreaction. This overlayer is thought to be formed via oligomerization of hydroxyimine or imine species via specific pathways that are identified within a postulated global reaction scheme.