Regeneration method for the dehydrogenation of butan-2-ol to methylethyl ketone
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Under the action of a dehydrogenation catalyst, refined sec-butanol loses one molecule of hydrogen at a temperature of 250°C to produce methylethyl ketone; therefore, the conversion efficiency of the dehydrogenation catalyst directly affects the yield of methylethyl ketone. During normal production, as the process proceeds, carbon deposits accumulate on the surface of the dehydrogenation catalyst, which significantly reduces its conversion efficiency; at this point, it is necessary to regenerate the dehydrogenation catalyst. After regeneration, the catalyst needs to be activated. Currently, there are two activation methods: 1. Sec-butanol is heated and flashed to become gaseous, entering the dehydrogenation reaction where it reacts with a catalyst to produce hydrogen. The reaction between the catalyst and hydrogen releases a large amount of heat, which reduces cuprous oxide to metallic copper during regeneration. 2. Hydrogen mixing activation: The heat transfer oil is cooled using a regeneration heater, thereby reducing the temperature of the dehydrogenation reactor to 230–250°C. After introducing nitrogen for purging, hydrogen is introduced to activate the catalyst. Once activation is complete, purging is carried out again followed by maintaining the pressure with nitrogen. Which of these two methods is more effective? Are their effects the same?
The hydrogen reduction method is not very effective; it only reduces cuprous oxide to copper without removing the carbon deposits, so something needs to be done to get rid of those deposits.
The dehydrogenation reactor is heated using heat transfer oil, and it employs an air regeneration method – isn’t that a step for removing carbon deposits?