【Frontiers in HaiChuan Chemical Technology】CAS Institute of Materials Science develops semi-hydrogenation process for producing acetylene from ethylene

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On April 1, the Shenyang Materials Science **Research Center of the Institute of Metals, Chinese Academy of Sciences, reported that the research team led by Researcher Liu Hongyang has made significant progress in the field of sub-nanoscale, atomically dispersed metal hydrogenation catalysts. By successfully creating metal Pd2 diatomic active sites on defect-rich graphene carriers, the team overcame the challenge of achieving both high activity and high selectivity in the industrial semi-hydrogenation of acetylene. The relevant research findings were published in the international journal Nature Communications. Ethylene, a bulk chemical with an annual production of over 200 million tons, is the cornerstone of the polyolefin industry. In the process of producing ethylene via naphtha steam cracking, small amounts of acetylene impurities present in the feed gas can severely poison the downstream polymerization catalysts. Currently, the semi-hydrogenation process is widely used in industry to remove acetylene. However, thermodynamically, the excessive hydrogenation of ethylene to produce ethane is more favorable. Traditional palladium (Pd) catalysts, although highly active, have poor selectivity, resulting in the substantial consumption of expensive ethylene. The research team led by Researcher Liu Hongyang, in close collaboration with Academician Martin’s team from Peking University and Associate Professor Sun Geng’s team from Chongqing University, utilized the solvent-dependent effect on the dispersibility of palladium carboxylate salts to precisely construct Pd2 diatomic active sites on defect-rich graphene surfaces. Experimental data show that this catalyst can achieve complete conversion of acetylene at 100°C, with an ethylene selectivity as high as 93.2%. It also showed no sign of deactivation during stability tests lasting up to 100 hours, demonstrating excellent potential for industrial application.