Hydrogenation is one of the most widely used reactions in fine chemicals, food, and pharmaceuticals. Yet, it is still mostly run in batches. In collaboration with the CP2M laboratory, KHIMOD tested its Heat-Exchanger Reactor on a series of hydrogenation cases to evaluate its performance against the batch standard.
For oleic acid hydrogenation to stearic acid, one K1 reactor tube achieved 99% conversion with less than one bar of pressure drop and isothermal control. A K5-scale reactor could fit within a 0.4 m³ footprint and process several tons per year. For myrcene, a highly exothermic and selectivity-sensitive reaction, flow operation matched the yield of the batch process while reducing the use of solvents. In a three-step selective hydrogenation process involving acetophenone, phenylethanol, and ethylbenzene, the reactor’s plug-flow behavior closely matched ideal batch performance when flow velocity remained above a minimum threshold.
Scaling up from a single channel to an eight-channel multitube reactor produced the same conversion and selectivity curves. This confirms that KHIMOD’s scaling-up approach works even for demanding, selectivity-critical chemistry.
