The Influence of a Mesoporous Silica on Ru-Sn Catalyst Activity in the Hydrogenation of Methyl Oleate

Abstract

The hydrogenation of methyl oleate on a Ru-Sn catalyst deposited on Al-HMS was studied in comparison to that conducted on the same catalyst deposited on a conventional support, i.e. g-Al2O3. The catalyst was prepared by sequential impregnation. The distribution of the acid strength of the prepared catalysts was determined by thermic desorption of diethyl amine in the temperature range from 20 to 600�C. Experiments were carried out on a laboratory echipament using a fixed bed catalytic reactor at a temperature of 275�C, pressure of 100 atm with a methyl oleate volume flow rate (VHSV) of 0.15h-1 and molar ratio hydrogen/ methyl oleate of 10/1. The main compounds identified were saturated and unsaturated fatty alcohols and saturated hydrocarbons. Ru-Sn/ Al-HMS + g-Al2O3 shows a higher conversion to liquid products that the Ru-Sn-Ba / g-Al2O3, probably due to a favorable distribution of the acid strength.