Kinetics of Vapor-Phase Dehydration of Glycerin to Acrolein over a Heterogeneous Catalyst BAO-1

Abstract

Principal regularities of vapor-phase dehydration of glycerin over a heterogeneous 0.5B₂O₃/γ-Al₂O₃ (BAO-1) catalyst were studied and a kinetic model of the process was suggested based on the data obtained using a differential reactor. The kinetic constants involved in the generalized mathematical models were estimated using the method of differential evolution based on the program package Mathematica 5.0. The activation energy of the target reaction was calculated to equal (50.18±0.11) kJ·mol^-1. The adequacy of the obtained equations was tested on the basis of Fisher's variance ratio. The suggested kinetic equations were used for determining optimal conditions of the glycerin dehydration process (process temperature 330 °C, inlet glycerin concentration 30 %, catalyst loading ratio 0.0338 L·h_cat ^-1·min^-1). The data obtained can be helpful in calculations for scaled-up facilities for acrolein production through glycerin dehydration.