Lubricant hydrogenation
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I have a question for everyone: Why is hydrogenation of lubricating oils always carried out under high pressure? For example, above 10.0 MPa? Can’t it be hydrogenated at medium or low pressures of 8.0 MPa or less? What is the theoretical basis?
The components of lubricating oil are generally heavy hydrocarbon molecules, and these components usually contain a high amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as well as heavy heterocyclic hydrocarbons. Due to the very high stability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, they are not easily hydrogenated and saturated into branched hydrocarbons and cycloalkanes at low hydrogen pressures. Only under higher hydrogenation pressures can the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons be cyclically saturated or opened, while the heterocyclic hydrocarbons are also saturated and removed, thereby yielding a better base oil for lubricants.
Okay, I see. It must be a reaction in which the volume decreases, which is why high pressure is needed, right? ?
I think you don’t understand at all. This has no obvious relationship with whether the reaction volume decreases or not.