HYDROGENOLYSIS OF NORMAL-BUTANE ON A NICKEL ON SILICA CATALYST .1. KINETIC MODEL

The catalytic hydrogenolysis of n-butane was investigated in an integral packed bed reactor (0.70 cm. ID by 25 cm. long). The catalyst was 10% nickel on silica gel. A block factorial set of experiments was performed at hydrogen-to-butane feed ratios of 4. to 9., temperatures of 240° to 282°C and feed flowrates of 1.0 to 1.8 ml/sec. The predominant reaction appeared to be the remad of terminal methyl groups. Kinetic rate expressions were developed to predict the product distribution, taking into account a five-fold change in catalytic activity. A parameter estimation strategy, applying non-linear regression theory, was used to obtain the ten kinetic parameters. Error analysis of the parameters was performed using likelihood ratios. Models were developed to describe the catalyst activity changes observed during experinrentation. The kinetic model predicts the experimental observations very accurately over all conversions and shows some deviation only at the combination of high temperature and low feed ratio. Copyright © 1972 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering