new catalyst synthesis and multi-functional reactor concepts for emerging technologies in the...

34
New Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts for Emerging Technologies in the Process Industry Frits M. Dautzenberg * ABB Lummus Global Inc., Technology Development Center, Bloomfield, New Jersey, USA CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................. 2 I. INTRODUCTION ............................... 2 II. CATALYST SYNTHESIS .......................... 2 A. Microengineered Catalysts (MEC) ................... 3 B. Dry Zeolite Synthesis .......................... 7 C. Mesoporous Materials .......................... 11 III. THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE SIZE AND POROSITY ON CATALYST ACTIVITY ........................... 14 IV. MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS .................... 21 A. Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat ..................... 21 B. Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO) ............ 23 C. Catalytic Distillation ........................... 24 1 DOI: 10.1081/CR-200036729 0161-4940 (Print); 1520-5703 (Online) Copyright # 2004 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. www.dekker.com *Correspondence: Frits M. Dautzenberg, ABB Lummus Global Inc., Technology Q1 Development Center, Bloomfield, NJ, USA. LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3–4 Techset Composition Ltd, Salisbury, U.K. 9/23/2004 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 CATALYSIS REVIEWS Vol. 46, No. 3–4, pp. 1–33, 2004

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New Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional ReactorConcepts for Emerging Technologies

in the Process Industry

Frits M Dautzenberg

ABB Lummus Global Inc Technology Development Center

Bloomfield New Jersey USA

CONTENTS

ABSTRACT 2

I INTRODUCTION 2

II CATALYST SYNTHESIS 2

A Microengineered Catalysts (MEC) 3

B Dry Zeolite Synthesis 7

C Mesoporous Materials 11

III THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE SIZE AND POROSITY ON

CATALYST ACTIVITY 14

IV MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS 21

A Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat 21

B Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO) 23

C Catalytic Distillation 24

1

DOI 101081CR-200036729 0161-4940 (Print) 1520-5703 (Online)

Copyright 2004 by Marcel Dekker Inc wwwdekkercom

Correspondence Frits M Dautzenberg ABB Lummus Global Inc Technology Q1Development

Center Bloomfield NJ USA

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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47

CATALYSIS REVIEWS

Vol 46 No 3ndash4 pp 1ndash33 2004

V CONCLUSIONS 29

REFERENCES 32

ABSTRACT

Q2

Key Words Please supply Q2

INTRODUCTION

As catalytic processes move through the various development phases (eg con-

ception development commercialization) and evolutionary optimization additional

improvements may eventually require major innovations and breakthroughs In this

paper several approaches are described to show that one can sometimes squeeze higher

performance out of existing processes by revisiting the fundamentals of catalytic

science and engineering Here the overarching theme is to manage and facilitate heat

and mass transfer

There are two elements of this approach in this presentation catalyst synthesis and

multifunctional reactor design As catalysts achieve higher intrinsic activity and as pro-

cesses are pushed to higher conversion both of these elements become increasingly

important Moreover the integration of new catalyst synthesis and reactors can also

improve existing technologies significantly Examples will be cited in both these areas

based on recent advances at ABB Lummus Global

CATALYST SYNTHESIS

Catalysts are developed in the laboratory with extreme care At that scale one strives

in general to get intrinsic activities and takes great care to achieve isothermal conditions

and operation in a kinetically controlled regime[1] However in commercial units cata-

lysts operate in adiabatic reactors and at high conversion under conditions where heat

and mass transfer effects cannot be avoided Consequently catalyst structural

parametersmdashsuch as particle size pore structure ultimate crystal size dispersion

effects active site distribution etcmdashtake on added importance to achieve optimal per-

formance This tailoring of catalysts has been the focal point of many industrial research

organizationsrsquo catalyst synthesis work One could consider this RampD activity to be

ldquocrystal and pore structure architecturerdquo To show the importance of this concept three

specific examples have been selected to demonstrate what can be achieved (1) micro-

engineered catalysts that enable enhanced interphase mass transfer (2) new mesoporous

catalysts with ultra-large pores that accommodate slowly diffusing reactants and (3)

custom-synthesized catalysts with submicron crystals that achieve high effectiveness

factors while still retaining the virtues of shape selectivity Each of these three advanced

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Dautzenberg2

applications plays a different role in facilitating enhanced mass transfer Before we discuss

their catalytic significance and the combined use of these technologies a brief description

of each will be provided

Microengineered Catalysts (MEC)

Fast reactions often become mass transfer limited at conventional catalyst particle

diameters Therefore one is directionally driven toward smaller and smaller catalyst par-

ticles however the reduced catalyst size approach often results in high pressure drop at

commercial conditions Pressure drop problems add to compressor and energy costs in

a ldquoworst caserdquo scenario reactor support beams have been known to buckle and sometimes

fail Lummus has designed Micro Engineered Catalysts (ldquoMECrdquo) for fast reactions where

hydraulic limitations andor external mass transfer effects are important In a typical MEC

structure micron-sized catalyst particles are deposited on fibrous substrates with very high

void fractions (90thorn) Structural flow characteristics are optimized for a particular reac-

tion[2] While many applications have been identified selective catalytic reduction (SCR)

for DeNOx will be described in this paper to illustrate the merits of MEC

A typical DeNOx catalyst resides at the tail end of a combustion process whether it is

an automotive engine or a stationary power plant The objective of these processes is to

produce useful energy and thus it is critical that the back pressure be kept to a

minimum Allowable pressure losses through the catalyst system are as low as 250ndash

500 Pa The necessity for low frictional losses has a deleterious effect on catalyst activity

since the catalyst film resistance becomes controlling at the dilute (ie 1ndash10 ppm) levels

of NOx required at the outlet of the catalyst bed

Other reactor design approaches that have been used include

Using straight-channel monoliths which have been either wash coated or extruded

from catalyst The laminar flow in the channels results in poor mass transfer inef-

fective utilization of catalyst and low overall activity One approach to improve

performance is to use smaller channels but this significantly increases pressure

drop

Using short parallel beds of catalyst particles Here catalyst activity is high within

the beds and initial pressure drops are low However the void space imposed by the

open channels results in a large reactor In addition the catalyst beds are prone to

plugging in dusty atmospheres

MEC is a natural fit elegantly solving the total reactionndashengineering problem Struc-

tured packings are well known for their efficiency and low pressure drop The geometry of

the structured packing can be optimized for available pressure drop while the micron-sized

catalyst particles ensure high effectiveness factors for fast reactions

MEC catalyst formation has evolved over the past several years Steel mesh has been

supplemented by ceramic fibers as a coating substrate Figure 1 shows one of the latest

ceramic structures The use of ceramic rather than steel structures has reduced the

support cost by more than 60 at the same or better catalytic performance

In a ceramic fiber structure the catalyst itself provides mechanical strength At the

same time it is important that the fiber sheets remain porous and that all the catalyst

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139

140

141

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 3

coated onto the microfibers is accessible Lummus has developed specialized coating tech-

niques to ensure that these requirements can be met

While the well known honeycomb monolith exhibits laminar flow MEC is a low-

pressure drop (due to its high void fraction and uniform geometry) turbulent flow struc-

ture This effect is demonstrated in Fig 2 The exponential nature of the pressure drop

versus velocity of a turbulent MEC structure is compared to the linear relationship of a

laminar straight-channel monolith MEC has a clear-cut pressure drop advantage at the

velocities of interest

The geometry of an MEC structure can be easily optimized for minimal pressure drop

and excellent catalyst activity[2] Larger openings and larger angles with respect to flow

direction (with 908 being parallel to flow and 08 being perpendicular to flow) will tend

to decrease pressure drop as well as catalyst activity Figure 3 shows the relationship

between first order rate constant and pressure drop per unit length for typical DeNOx con-

ditions as a function of structure angle in the flow direction

Figure 4 illustrates that MEC is a superior (SCR) DeNOx catalyst compared to a con-

ventional commercial honeycomb system at typical reaction conditions[4] The utilization

of the small catalyst particles in MEC is very high however there are limits as to how

much catalyst can be loaded onto the fibrous support while still maintaining accessibility

At lower temperatures where the reaction tends to be kinetically controlled an MEC

system tends to lose its advantage The kinetic resistance dominates The volumetric

activity of an MEC is the same as the monolith even with only 65 of catalyst loading

Figure 1 Ceramic MEC DeNOx catalyst

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Dautzenberg4

Fig

ure

2

Pre

ssu

relo

ssv

ersu

sv

elo

city

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235

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 5

Fig

ure

3

ME

Cp

ress

ure

loss

ver

sus

stru

ctu

rean

gle

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Dautzenberg6

Although there is no universal solution to all reaction engineering applications

MEC has solved the size versus pressure drop problem for mass-transfer-limited

reactions

Dry Zeolite Synthesis

A second catalyst advance is our ldquoDry Synthesisrdquo zeolite crystallization called

ldquoDrySynrdquo for shortmdashan entirely new way to make zeolites[5] Unlike conventional

methods where the nutrients are dissolved in a caustic solution DrySyn starts with

solid reagents often silica-alumina microspheres similar in size to FCC catalysts These

silica-alumina microspheres are porous and have their own gross morphology Using

the DrySyn method the pores are filled with water caustic and if needed an organic

directing agent below or at the incipient wetness point The particles appear dry hence

the term ldquodry synthesisrdquo DrySyn has several advantages compared to conventional syn-

thesis routes (a) faster crystallization time (b) smaller crystal size (c) ability to control

porosity based on the preformed particlesrsquo properties (d) improved nutrient utilization

and (e) lower environmental impact

Figure 5 is a schematic representation of DrySyn[6] The starting materialmdasha porous

particle usually silica-aluminamdashhas its own characteristic silica-to-alumina ratio and

porosity In the crystallization process the finished product is comprised of many ultra-

small zeolite crystals Figure 6 shows the finished product of three standard zeolites

ZSM-5 zeolite beta and inorganic mordenite[7]

Figure 4 MEC DeNOx activity versus honeycomb

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327

328

329

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 7

Fig

ure

5

No

vel

zeo

lite

syn

thes

isp

roce

du

re

ldquoDry

-Sy

nth

esis

rdquo

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330

331

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Dautzenberg8

Fig

ure

6

Co

nv

ersi

on

exam

ple

sfo

rldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquo

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 9

The finished product also retains the gross morphology of the parent microsphere

thereby imparting mesoporosity to the crystal agglomerates This mesopore effect is

easily seen in Fig 7 where the pore size distribution is compared to a commercial catalyst

While both catalysts have a similar share of smaller pores the DrySyn catalyst has

about 70 of its pores in the 30thorn nm range When one considers the impact of composite

resistances in a catalyst it is easy to see the potential benefits of such a pore structure

One example of DrySyn performance is shown in Fig 8 Two fast reactionsmdash

ethylbenzene (EB) and cumene productionmdashare shown for a commercial zeolite beta cat-

alyst and a comparable DrySyn catalyst Based on first-order rate constants the DrySyn

catalyst has a two-fold activity advantage for EB and a 50 activity advantage for

cumene synthesis Even though these molecules are relatively small the mesoporosity

gives a significant performance boost

The DrySyn zeolite procedure is particularly advantageous for inorganic zeolites like

zeolite Y In a high throughput screening study with Avantium many synthesis variables

(eg temperature time NaOH concentration etc) were examined that should favor the

formation of high quality small crystal zeolite Y Some of the results are shown in

Fig 9 Here each line represents one synthesis experiment and the bars describe the

three products unconverted material (Phase 1) the desired Y (Phase 3) and a second

phase (Phase 2) cancrinite By looking at the Y bars one can quickly zero in on the pre-

ferred synthesis conditions to maximize the production of zeolite Y Of course other

factors are also important such as percent crystallinity surface area hydrocarbon sorp-

tion and ultimate crystal size Figure 10 shows the progress made in driving down the

Figure 7 Pore size distribution of two catalysts

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469

470

Dautzenberg10

crystal size While most conventional zeolite Y samples are typically 05 micron in size

the resultant DrySyn crystals are an order of magnitude smaller These unusually small

crystals have excellent activity for many hydrocarbon processes

Mesoporous Materials

An area of growing importance is mesoporous materials Since the discovery of

MCM-41[8 ndash 10] in the late 1980s there has been a myriad of articles and patents in this

field Lummus has also been quite active in this field In collaboration with the Technical

University of Delft (the Netherlands) an entirely new group of materials collectively

known as TUD-1[11 ndash 13] has been synthesized TUD-1 is comprised of random three-

dimensional interconnecting pores Unlike the M41S materials and many other mesopor-

ous materials TUD-1 is amorphous and thus has no planes of symmetry and no space

group

TUD-1rsquos amorphous character is shown in Fig 11 which is an electron micrograph of

TUD-1 alongside a ceramic foam of macroscopic scale To conclusively show that the

pores are interconnected a ldquoreverse imagingrdquo technique was developed Here the pores

of a siliceous TUD-1 were filled with sugar molecules that were then carburized The

silica was then dissolved to leave behind only the carbon pore replica The resultant struc-

ture did not collapse conclusively proving that the pores are interconnected

TUD-1 has another important property the pores have a controllable narrow size

distributionmdashtypically from 40 to 120 A with a surface area from 500 to 1000 m2g

Figure 12 shows the trade-off that can be achieved between pore diameter and surface

area Even at the largest pore size the surface area for this Si-TUD-1 is 500 m2gndash20

to 40 higher than typical silica supports

Figure 8 Aromatics alkylation comparison of catalyst performance

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517

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 11

Fig

ure

9

Su

mm

ary

of

HT

Ssy

nth

esis

exp

erim

ents

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

518

519

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Dautzenberg12

These combined properties make TUD-1 an attractive viable catalyst or catalyst

support for many reactions While the major focus has been with alumina silica and

silica-alumina TUD-1 has been made in about 20 different chemical variants As seen

in Table 1 Delft scientists have shown that Ti-TUD-1 is five times more active than its

MCM-41 counterpart for epoxidation even though the surface areas are equivalent[1314]

Figure 10 Comparison of conventional and ldquoDrySynrdquo Y crystallites

Figure 11 Ceramic foam versus TUD-1 an analogy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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611

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 13

THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE SIZE AND POROSITY ON

CATALYST ACTIVITY

Catalysts can be custom-tailored for improved performance specifically the well-

known Thiele moduluseffectiveness factor concepts can be applied to demonstrate

mass transfer effects in catalysis The unique features of DrySyn zeolites and TUD-1

are both amenable to this approach

The intrinsic activity [k(o)] can be calculated by measuring the apparent catalyst

activity [k(app)] of a catalyst using two different particle sizes [rp] It follows that

kethappTHORNeth1THORN

kethappTHORNeth2THORNfrac14

heth1THORN

heth2THORNfrac14

3=f1frac121= tanhf1 1=f1

3=f2frac121= tanhf2 1=f2eth1THORN

Figure 12 TUD-1 Trading off pore size and surface area

Table 1 Expoxidation of cyclohexene

Catalysts Surface area m2g Turnover frequency

Ti-MCM-41 921 36

Ti-TUD-1 917 202

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613

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651

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657

658

Dautzenberg14

in which

fi frac14 rpethiTHORN

ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffikethoTHORN

D

reth2THORN

and

hethiTHORN frac14kethappTHORNethiTHORN

kethoTHORNeth3THORN

Through an iterative approximation we establish a value for k(o)D so that Eq (1) is

satisfied For each experimental value of rp we now can calculate f and thus k(o) and

therefore D We subsequently determine k(app) for any value of rp While the effective-

ness factorThiele modulus is usually shown as a log-log plot recasting it on a linear

scale can be quite informative

Figure 13 shows a typical example where this approach has been applied to two differ-

ent zeolite beta catalysts Using ethylbenzene formation as a probe reactive the k(o) of the

DrySyn beta catalyst is 15 higher than the k(o) of the commercial beta catalyst Of indus-

trial importance is the fact that the k(app) for 15 mm DrySyn particles is more than 25

times higher than the k(app) of 15 mm commercial catalyst particles Since the crystal

size of both zeolite beta samples is small (less than 005 micron ultimate crystal size)

the performance difference is probably due to the large number of mesopores in the

DrySyn catalyst which is reflected in the higher value of the effective diffusivity

In addition to altering catalyst activity by different zeolite synthesis routes one can

vary the catalyst support properties for a dramatic impact on catalyst performance This

concept has been shown[1516] to achieve synergistic benefits by combining zeolitic

activity with a mesoporous matrix A specific example is cited here again using the EB

probe reaction Table 2 shows the performance of three alumina-bound commercial Y cata-

lysts and two developmental catalysts using TUD-1 (silica or alumina) as the binding

material (commercial zeolite Y used) The intrinsic activities of the three commercial cata-

lysts reported on a constant zeolite basis are very similar and the intrinsic activities of

the mesoporous Y catalysts are significantly lower However the commercially important

activity is for particles typically greater than 1 mm Figure 14 shows the catalyst activity of

the two types of Y catalysts versus particle size Interestingly although the mesoporous Y

catalyst (here with Si-TUD-1) has a lower intrinsic activity than the commercial Y cata-

lyst the mesoporous Y has triple the activity of the commercial Y catalyst at industrially

relevant particle sizes This activity ldquocross-over effectrdquo is attributable to a tenfold advan-

tage in diffusivity One can quickly see the potential activity advantage that can be

achieved by optimizing the mesoporosity The five catalysts of Table 2 are compared in

Fig 15 Here we see that despite lower intrinsic activities both mesoporous Y catalysts

have superior activity compared to the three commercial Y catalysts at particle size of

15 mm

From the above conclusions one can foresee that another route to raising the overall

catalyst performance is to boost the intrinsic activity of the zeolite itself This concept is

illustrated in Table 3 Again using the EB probe reaction Table 3 shows the performance

of two alumina-bound commercial zeolite beta catalysts and one developmental catalyst

embedded in Si-TUD-1 (commercial zeolite beta used) The second commercial zeolite

beta catalyst (ldquoType IIrdquo) was prepared by a proprietary technique that achieves a

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

659

660

661

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664

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689

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699

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701

702

703

704

705

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 15

Fig

ure

13

P

erfo

rman

ceo

fldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquob

eta

ver

sus

com

mer

cial

bet

a(R

ef

ZS

han

etal

M

icro

po

rou

san

dM

ater

ials

20

014

81

81

)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

706

707

708

709

710

711

712

713

714

715

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717

718

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732

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734

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740

741

742

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745

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747

748

749

750

751

752

Dautzenberg16

Ta

ble

2

Yca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

61

50

1C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

I(7

0

)

36

97

8

10

26

15

30

47

03

00

25

68

10

01

00

2C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

II(8

0

)

33

11

11

10

26

15

60

50

03

10

26

79

09

01

05

3C

om

mer

ical

Y4

63

19

5

10

26

23

80

77

04

90

41

89

12

51

65

4M

eso

po

rou

sY

Si-

TU

D-1

(45

8

)

24

71

31

0

10

26

23

11

48

10

50

91

36

80

67

36

3

5M

eso

po

rou

sY

11

59

93

10

26

11

00

73

05

30

47

40

40

31

18

6

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

753

754

755

756

757

758

759

760

761

762

763

764

765

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767

768

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771

772

773

774

775

776

777

778

779

780

781

782

783

784

785

786

787

788

789

790

791

792

793

794

795

796

797

798

799

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 17

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

800

801

802

803

804

805

806

807

808

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810

811

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813

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815

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817

818

819

820

821

822

823

824

825

826

827

828

829

830

831

832

833

834

835

836

837

838

839

840

841

842

843

844

845

846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

847

848

849

850

851

852

853

854

855

856

857

858

859

860

861

862

863

864

865

866

867

868

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870

871

872

873

874

875

876

877

878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

896

897

898

899

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901

902

903

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906

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910

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913

914

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916

917

918

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921

922

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924

925

926

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928

929

930

931

932

933

934

935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

941

942

943

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951

952

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957

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971

972

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974

975

976

977

978

979

980

981

982

983

984

985

986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

988

989

990

991

992

993

994

995

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998

999

1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

1006

1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

1012

1013

1014

1015

1016

1017

1018

1019

1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1035

1036

1037

1038

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1077

1078

1079

1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

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1082

1083

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1103

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1111

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1120

1121

1122

1123

1124

1125

1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

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1168

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1170

1171

1172

1173

1174

1175

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1176

1177

1178

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1180

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1190

1191

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1200

1201

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1220

1221

1222

Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

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1223

1224

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1234

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1268

1269

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1270

1271

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1309

1310

1311

1312

1313

1314

1315

1316

Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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1318

1319

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1360

1361

1362

1363

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1365

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1371

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1399

1400

1401

1402

1403

1404

1405

1406

1407

1408

1409

1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1411

1412

1413

1414

1415

1416

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1418

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1420

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1422

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1425

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1427

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1450

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1453

1454

1455

1456

1457

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1459

1460

1461

1462

1463

1464

1465

1466

1467

1468

1469

1470

1471

1472

1473

1474

1475

1476

1477

1478

1479

1480

1481

1482

1483

1484

1485

1486

1487

1488

1489

1490

1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

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1505

1506

1507

1508

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1551

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg34

V CONCLUSIONS 29

REFERENCES 32

ABSTRACT

Q2

Key Words Please supply Q2

INTRODUCTION

As catalytic processes move through the various development phases (eg con-

ception development commercialization) and evolutionary optimization additional

improvements may eventually require major innovations and breakthroughs In this

paper several approaches are described to show that one can sometimes squeeze higher

performance out of existing processes by revisiting the fundamentals of catalytic

science and engineering Here the overarching theme is to manage and facilitate heat

and mass transfer

There are two elements of this approach in this presentation catalyst synthesis and

multifunctional reactor design As catalysts achieve higher intrinsic activity and as pro-

cesses are pushed to higher conversion both of these elements become increasingly

important Moreover the integration of new catalyst synthesis and reactors can also

improve existing technologies significantly Examples will be cited in both these areas

based on recent advances at ABB Lummus Global

CATALYST SYNTHESIS

Catalysts are developed in the laboratory with extreme care At that scale one strives

in general to get intrinsic activities and takes great care to achieve isothermal conditions

and operation in a kinetically controlled regime[1] However in commercial units cata-

lysts operate in adiabatic reactors and at high conversion under conditions where heat

and mass transfer effects cannot be avoided Consequently catalyst structural

parametersmdashsuch as particle size pore structure ultimate crystal size dispersion

effects active site distribution etcmdashtake on added importance to achieve optimal per-

formance This tailoring of catalysts has been the focal point of many industrial research

organizationsrsquo catalyst synthesis work One could consider this RampD activity to be

ldquocrystal and pore structure architecturerdquo To show the importance of this concept three

specific examples have been selected to demonstrate what can be achieved (1) micro-

engineered catalysts that enable enhanced interphase mass transfer (2) new mesoporous

catalysts with ultra-large pores that accommodate slowly diffusing reactants and (3)

custom-synthesized catalysts with submicron crystals that achieve high effectiveness

factors while still retaining the virtues of shape selectivity Each of these three advanced

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92

93

94

Dautzenberg2

applications plays a different role in facilitating enhanced mass transfer Before we discuss

their catalytic significance and the combined use of these technologies a brief description

of each will be provided

Microengineered Catalysts (MEC)

Fast reactions often become mass transfer limited at conventional catalyst particle

diameters Therefore one is directionally driven toward smaller and smaller catalyst par-

ticles however the reduced catalyst size approach often results in high pressure drop at

commercial conditions Pressure drop problems add to compressor and energy costs in

a ldquoworst caserdquo scenario reactor support beams have been known to buckle and sometimes

fail Lummus has designed Micro Engineered Catalysts (ldquoMECrdquo) for fast reactions where

hydraulic limitations andor external mass transfer effects are important In a typical MEC

structure micron-sized catalyst particles are deposited on fibrous substrates with very high

void fractions (90thorn) Structural flow characteristics are optimized for a particular reac-

tion[2] While many applications have been identified selective catalytic reduction (SCR)

for DeNOx will be described in this paper to illustrate the merits of MEC

A typical DeNOx catalyst resides at the tail end of a combustion process whether it is

an automotive engine or a stationary power plant The objective of these processes is to

produce useful energy and thus it is critical that the back pressure be kept to a

minimum Allowable pressure losses through the catalyst system are as low as 250ndash

500 Pa The necessity for low frictional losses has a deleterious effect on catalyst activity

since the catalyst film resistance becomes controlling at the dilute (ie 1ndash10 ppm) levels

of NOx required at the outlet of the catalyst bed

Other reactor design approaches that have been used include

Using straight-channel monoliths which have been either wash coated or extruded

from catalyst The laminar flow in the channels results in poor mass transfer inef-

fective utilization of catalyst and low overall activity One approach to improve

performance is to use smaller channels but this significantly increases pressure

drop

Using short parallel beds of catalyst particles Here catalyst activity is high within

the beds and initial pressure drops are low However the void space imposed by the

open channels results in a large reactor In addition the catalyst beds are prone to

plugging in dusty atmospheres

MEC is a natural fit elegantly solving the total reactionndashengineering problem Struc-

tured packings are well known for their efficiency and low pressure drop The geometry of

the structured packing can be optimized for available pressure drop while the micron-sized

catalyst particles ensure high effectiveness factors for fast reactions

MEC catalyst formation has evolved over the past several years Steel mesh has been

supplemented by ceramic fibers as a coating substrate Figure 1 shows one of the latest

ceramic structures The use of ceramic rather than steel structures has reduced the

support cost by more than 60 at the same or better catalytic performance

In a ceramic fiber structure the catalyst itself provides mechanical strength At the

same time it is important that the fiber sheets remain porous and that all the catalyst

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139

140

141

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 3

coated onto the microfibers is accessible Lummus has developed specialized coating tech-

niques to ensure that these requirements can be met

While the well known honeycomb monolith exhibits laminar flow MEC is a low-

pressure drop (due to its high void fraction and uniform geometry) turbulent flow struc-

ture This effect is demonstrated in Fig 2 The exponential nature of the pressure drop

versus velocity of a turbulent MEC structure is compared to the linear relationship of a

laminar straight-channel monolith MEC has a clear-cut pressure drop advantage at the

velocities of interest

The geometry of an MEC structure can be easily optimized for minimal pressure drop

and excellent catalyst activity[2] Larger openings and larger angles with respect to flow

direction (with 908 being parallel to flow and 08 being perpendicular to flow) will tend

to decrease pressure drop as well as catalyst activity Figure 3 shows the relationship

between first order rate constant and pressure drop per unit length for typical DeNOx con-

ditions as a function of structure angle in the flow direction

Figure 4 illustrates that MEC is a superior (SCR) DeNOx catalyst compared to a con-

ventional commercial honeycomb system at typical reaction conditions[4] The utilization

of the small catalyst particles in MEC is very high however there are limits as to how

much catalyst can be loaded onto the fibrous support while still maintaining accessibility

At lower temperatures where the reaction tends to be kinetically controlled an MEC

system tends to lose its advantage The kinetic resistance dominates The volumetric

activity of an MEC is the same as the monolith even with only 65 of catalyst loading

Figure 1 Ceramic MEC DeNOx catalyst

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Dautzenberg4

Fig

ure

2

Pre

ssu

relo

ssv

ersu

sv

elo

city

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235

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 5

Fig

ure

3

ME

Cp

ress

ure

loss

ver

sus

stru

ctu

rean

gle

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279

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281

282

Dautzenberg6

Although there is no universal solution to all reaction engineering applications

MEC has solved the size versus pressure drop problem for mass-transfer-limited

reactions

Dry Zeolite Synthesis

A second catalyst advance is our ldquoDry Synthesisrdquo zeolite crystallization called

ldquoDrySynrdquo for shortmdashan entirely new way to make zeolites[5] Unlike conventional

methods where the nutrients are dissolved in a caustic solution DrySyn starts with

solid reagents often silica-alumina microspheres similar in size to FCC catalysts These

silica-alumina microspheres are porous and have their own gross morphology Using

the DrySyn method the pores are filled with water caustic and if needed an organic

directing agent below or at the incipient wetness point The particles appear dry hence

the term ldquodry synthesisrdquo DrySyn has several advantages compared to conventional syn-

thesis routes (a) faster crystallization time (b) smaller crystal size (c) ability to control

porosity based on the preformed particlesrsquo properties (d) improved nutrient utilization

and (e) lower environmental impact

Figure 5 is a schematic representation of DrySyn[6] The starting materialmdasha porous

particle usually silica-aluminamdashhas its own characteristic silica-to-alumina ratio and

porosity In the crystallization process the finished product is comprised of many ultra-

small zeolite crystals Figure 6 shows the finished product of three standard zeolites

ZSM-5 zeolite beta and inorganic mordenite[7]

Figure 4 MEC DeNOx activity versus honeycomb

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326

327

328

329

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 7

Fig

ure

5

No

vel

zeo

lite

syn

thes

isp

roce

du

re

ldquoDry

-Sy

nth

esis

rdquo

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376

Dautzenberg8

Fig

ure

6

Co

nv

ersi

on

exam

ple

sfo

rldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquo

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423

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 9

The finished product also retains the gross morphology of the parent microsphere

thereby imparting mesoporosity to the crystal agglomerates This mesopore effect is

easily seen in Fig 7 where the pore size distribution is compared to a commercial catalyst

While both catalysts have a similar share of smaller pores the DrySyn catalyst has

about 70 of its pores in the 30thorn nm range When one considers the impact of composite

resistances in a catalyst it is easy to see the potential benefits of such a pore structure

One example of DrySyn performance is shown in Fig 8 Two fast reactionsmdash

ethylbenzene (EB) and cumene productionmdashare shown for a commercial zeolite beta cat-

alyst and a comparable DrySyn catalyst Based on first-order rate constants the DrySyn

catalyst has a two-fold activity advantage for EB and a 50 activity advantage for

cumene synthesis Even though these molecules are relatively small the mesoporosity

gives a significant performance boost

The DrySyn zeolite procedure is particularly advantageous for inorganic zeolites like

zeolite Y In a high throughput screening study with Avantium many synthesis variables

(eg temperature time NaOH concentration etc) were examined that should favor the

formation of high quality small crystal zeolite Y Some of the results are shown in

Fig 9 Here each line represents one synthesis experiment and the bars describe the

three products unconverted material (Phase 1) the desired Y (Phase 3) and a second

phase (Phase 2) cancrinite By looking at the Y bars one can quickly zero in on the pre-

ferred synthesis conditions to maximize the production of zeolite Y Of course other

factors are also important such as percent crystallinity surface area hydrocarbon sorp-

tion and ultimate crystal size Figure 10 shows the progress made in driving down the

Figure 7 Pore size distribution of two catalysts

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469

470

Dautzenberg10

crystal size While most conventional zeolite Y samples are typically 05 micron in size

the resultant DrySyn crystals are an order of magnitude smaller These unusually small

crystals have excellent activity for many hydrocarbon processes

Mesoporous Materials

An area of growing importance is mesoporous materials Since the discovery of

MCM-41[8 ndash 10] in the late 1980s there has been a myriad of articles and patents in this

field Lummus has also been quite active in this field In collaboration with the Technical

University of Delft (the Netherlands) an entirely new group of materials collectively

known as TUD-1[11 ndash 13] has been synthesized TUD-1 is comprised of random three-

dimensional interconnecting pores Unlike the M41S materials and many other mesopor-

ous materials TUD-1 is amorphous and thus has no planes of symmetry and no space

group

TUD-1rsquos amorphous character is shown in Fig 11 which is an electron micrograph of

TUD-1 alongside a ceramic foam of macroscopic scale To conclusively show that the

pores are interconnected a ldquoreverse imagingrdquo technique was developed Here the pores

of a siliceous TUD-1 were filled with sugar molecules that were then carburized The

silica was then dissolved to leave behind only the carbon pore replica The resultant struc-

ture did not collapse conclusively proving that the pores are interconnected

TUD-1 has another important property the pores have a controllable narrow size

distributionmdashtypically from 40 to 120 A with a surface area from 500 to 1000 m2g

Figure 12 shows the trade-off that can be achieved between pore diameter and surface

area Even at the largest pore size the surface area for this Si-TUD-1 is 500 m2gndash20

to 40 higher than typical silica supports

Figure 8 Aromatics alkylation comparison of catalyst performance

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517

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 11

Fig

ure

9

Su

mm

ary

of

HT

Ssy

nth

esis

exp

erim

ents

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Dautzenberg12

These combined properties make TUD-1 an attractive viable catalyst or catalyst

support for many reactions While the major focus has been with alumina silica and

silica-alumina TUD-1 has been made in about 20 different chemical variants As seen

in Table 1 Delft scientists have shown that Ti-TUD-1 is five times more active than its

MCM-41 counterpart for epoxidation even though the surface areas are equivalent[1314]

Figure 10 Comparison of conventional and ldquoDrySynrdquo Y crystallites

Figure 11 Ceramic foam versus TUD-1 an analogy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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611

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 13

THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE SIZE AND POROSITY ON

CATALYST ACTIVITY

Catalysts can be custom-tailored for improved performance specifically the well-

known Thiele moduluseffectiveness factor concepts can be applied to demonstrate

mass transfer effects in catalysis The unique features of DrySyn zeolites and TUD-1

are both amenable to this approach

The intrinsic activity [k(o)] can be calculated by measuring the apparent catalyst

activity [k(app)] of a catalyst using two different particle sizes [rp] It follows that

kethappTHORNeth1THORN

kethappTHORNeth2THORNfrac14

heth1THORN

heth2THORNfrac14

3=f1frac121= tanhf1 1=f1

3=f2frac121= tanhf2 1=f2eth1THORN

Figure 12 TUD-1 Trading off pore size and surface area

Table 1 Expoxidation of cyclohexene

Catalysts Surface area m2g Turnover frequency

Ti-MCM-41 921 36

Ti-TUD-1 917 202

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658

Dautzenberg14

in which

fi frac14 rpethiTHORN

ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffikethoTHORN

D

reth2THORN

and

hethiTHORN frac14kethappTHORNethiTHORN

kethoTHORNeth3THORN

Through an iterative approximation we establish a value for k(o)D so that Eq (1) is

satisfied For each experimental value of rp we now can calculate f and thus k(o) and

therefore D We subsequently determine k(app) for any value of rp While the effective-

ness factorThiele modulus is usually shown as a log-log plot recasting it on a linear

scale can be quite informative

Figure 13 shows a typical example where this approach has been applied to two differ-

ent zeolite beta catalysts Using ethylbenzene formation as a probe reactive the k(o) of the

DrySyn beta catalyst is 15 higher than the k(o) of the commercial beta catalyst Of indus-

trial importance is the fact that the k(app) for 15 mm DrySyn particles is more than 25

times higher than the k(app) of 15 mm commercial catalyst particles Since the crystal

size of both zeolite beta samples is small (less than 005 micron ultimate crystal size)

the performance difference is probably due to the large number of mesopores in the

DrySyn catalyst which is reflected in the higher value of the effective diffusivity

In addition to altering catalyst activity by different zeolite synthesis routes one can

vary the catalyst support properties for a dramatic impact on catalyst performance This

concept has been shown[1516] to achieve synergistic benefits by combining zeolitic

activity with a mesoporous matrix A specific example is cited here again using the EB

probe reaction Table 2 shows the performance of three alumina-bound commercial Y cata-

lysts and two developmental catalysts using TUD-1 (silica or alumina) as the binding

material (commercial zeolite Y used) The intrinsic activities of the three commercial cata-

lysts reported on a constant zeolite basis are very similar and the intrinsic activities of

the mesoporous Y catalysts are significantly lower However the commercially important

activity is for particles typically greater than 1 mm Figure 14 shows the catalyst activity of

the two types of Y catalysts versus particle size Interestingly although the mesoporous Y

catalyst (here with Si-TUD-1) has a lower intrinsic activity than the commercial Y cata-

lyst the mesoporous Y has triple the activity of the commercial Y catalyst at industrially

relevant particle sizes This activity ldquocross-over effectrdquo is attributable to a tenfold advan-

tage in diffusivity One can quickly see the potential activity advantage that can be

achieved by optimizing the mesoporosity The five catalysts of Table 2 are compared in

Fig 15 Here we see that despite lower intrinsic activities both mesoporous Y catalysts

have superior activity compared to the three commercial Y catalysts at particle size of

15 mm

From the above conclusions one can foresee that another route to raising the overall

catalyst performance is to boost the intrinsic activity of the zeolite itself This concept is

illustrated in Table 3 Again using the EB probe reaction Table 3 shows the performance

of two alumina-bound commercial zeolite beta catalysts and one developmental catalyst

embedded in Si-TUD-1 (commercial zeolite beta used) The second commercial zeolite

beta catalyst (ldquoType IIrdquo) was prepared by a proprietary technique that achieves a

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703

704

705

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 15

Fig

ure

13

P

erfo

rman

ceo

fldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquob

eta

ver

sus

com

mer

cial

bet

a(R

ef

ZS

han

etal

M

icro

po

rou

san

dM

ater

ials

20

014

81

81

)

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751

752

Dautzenberg16

Ta

ble

2

Yca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

61

50

1C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

I(7

0

)

36

97

8

10

26

15

30

47

03

00

25

68

10

01

00

2C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

II(8

0

)

33

11

11

10

26

15

60

50

03

10

26

79

09

01

05

3C

om

mer

ical

Y4

63

19

5

10

26

23

80

77

04

90

41

89

12

51

65

4M

eso

po

rou

sY

Si-

TU

D-1

(45

8

)

24

71

31

0

10

26

23

11

48

10

50

91

36

80

67

36

3

5M

eso

po

rou

sY

11

59

93

10

26

11

00

73

05

30

47

40

40

31

18

6

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

753

754

755

756

757

758

759

760

761

762

763

764

765

766

767

768

769

770

771

772

773

774

775

776

777

778

779

780

781

782

783

784

785

786

787

788

789

790

791

792

793

794

795

796

797

798

799

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 17

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

800

801

802

803

804

805

806

807

808

809

810

811

812

813

814

815

816

817

818

819

820

821

822

823

824

825

826

827

828

829

830

831

832

833

834

835

836

837

838

839

840

841

842

843

844

845

846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

847

848

849

850

851

852

853

854

855

856

857

858

859

860

861

862

863

864

865

866

867

868

869

870

871

872

873

874

875

876

877

878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

896

897

898

899

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901

902

903

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905

906

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910

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913

914

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916

917

918

919

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921

922

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924

925

926

927

928

929

930

931

932

933

934

935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

941

942

943

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945

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950

951

952

953

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956

957

958

959

960

961

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963

964

965

966

967

968

969

970

971

972

973

974

975

976

977

978

979

980

981

982

983

984

985

986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

988

989

990

991

992

993

994

995

996

997

998

999

1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

1006

1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

1012

1013

1014

1015

1016

1017

1018

1019

1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1035

1036

1037

1038

1039

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1076

1077

1078

1079

1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

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1082

1083

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1101

1102

1103

1104

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1109

1110

1111

1112

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1117

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1119

1120

1121

1122

1123

1124

1125

1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

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1130

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1168

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1170

1171

1172

1173

1174

1175

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1176

1177

1178

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1180

1181

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1183

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1187

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1190

1191

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1200

1201

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1220

1221

1222

Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1223

1224

1225

1226

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1234

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1266

1267

1268

1269

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1270

1271

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1300

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1302

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1305

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1307

1308

1309

1310

1311

1312

1313

1314

1315

1316

Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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1318

1319

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1321

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1351

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1353

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1355

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1360

1361

1362

1363

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1365

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1371

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1399

1400

1401

1402

1403

1404

1405

1406

1407

1408

1409

1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1411

1412

1413

1414

1415

1416

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1418

1419

1420

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1422

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1425

1426

1427

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1429

1430

1431

1432

1433

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1436

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1440

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1445

1446

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1448

1449

1450

1451

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1453

1454

1455

1456

1457

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1459

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1461

1462

1463

1464

1465

1466

1467

1468

1469

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1471

1472

1473

1474

1475

1476

1477

1478

1479

1480

1481

1482

1483

1484

1485

1486

1487

1488

1489

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1491

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1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg34

applications plays a different role in facilitating enhanced mass transfer Before we discuss

their catalytic significance and the combined use of these technologies a brief description

of each will be provided

Microengineered Catalysts (MEC)

Fast reactions often become mass transfer limited at conventional catalyst particle

diameters Therefore one is directionally driven toward smaller and smaller catalyst par-

ticles however the reduced catalyst size approach often results in high pressure drop at

commercial conditions Pressure drop problems add to compressor and energy costs in

a ldquoworst caserdquo scenario reactor support beams have been known to buckle and sometimes

fail Lummus has designed Micro Engineered Catalysts (ldquoMECrdquo) for fast reactions where

hydraulic limitations andor external mass transfer effects are important In a typical MEC

structure micron-sized catalyst particles are deposited on fibrous substrates with very high

void fractions (90thorn) Structural flow characteristics are optimized for a particular reac-

tion[2] While many applications have been identified selective catalytic reduction (SCR)

for DeNOx will be described in this paper to illustrate the merits of MEC

A typical DeNOx catalyst resides at the tail end of a combustion process whether it is

an automotive engine or a stationary power plant The objective of these processes is to

produce useful energy and thus it is critical that the back pressure be kept to a

minimum Allowable pressure losses through the catalyst system are as low as 250ndash

500 Pa The necessity for low frictional losses has a deleterious effect on catalyst activity

since the catalyst film resistance becomes controlling at the dilute (ie 1ndash10 ppm) levels

of NOx required at the outlet of the catalyst bed

Other reactor design approaches that have been used include

Using straight-channel monoliths which have been either wash coated or extruded

from catalyst The laminar flow in the channels results in poor mass transfer inef-

fective utilization of catalyst and low overall activity One approach to improve

performance is to use smaller channels but this significantly increases pressure

drop

Using short parallel beds of catalyst particles Here catalyst activity is high within

the beds and initial pressure drops are low However the void space imposed by the

open channels results in a large reactor In addition the catalyst beds are prone to

plugging in dusty atmospheres

MEC is a natural fit elegantly solving the total reactionndashengineering problem Struc-

tured packings are well known for their efficiency and low pressure drop The geometry of

the structured packing can be optimized for available pressure drop while the micron-sized

catalyst particles ensure high effectiveness factors for fast reactions

MEC catalyst formation has evolved over the past several years Steel mesh has been

supplemented by ceramic fibers as a coating substrate Figure 1 shows one of the latest

ceramic structures The use of ceramic rather than steel structures has reduced the

support cost by more than 60 at the same or better catalytic performance

In a ceramic fiber structure the catalyst itself provides mechanical strength At the

same time it is important that the fiber sheets remain porous and that all the catalyst

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 3

coated onto the microfibers is accessible Lummus has developed specialized coating tech-

niques to ensure that these requirements can be met

While the well known honeycomb monolith exhibits laminar flow MEC is a low-

pressure drop (due to its high void fraction and uniform geometry) turbulent flow struc-

ture This effect is demonstrated in Fig 2 The exponential nature of the pressure drop

versus velocity of a turbulent MEC structure is compared to the linear relationship of a

laminar straight-channel monolith MEC has a clear-cut pressure drop advantage at the

velocities of interest

The geometry of an MEC structure can be easily optimized for minimal pressure drop

and excellent catalyst activity[2] Larger openings and larger angles with respect to flow

direction (with 908 being parallel to flow and 08 being perpendicular to flow) will tend

to decrease pressure drop as well as catalyst activity Figure 3 shows the relationship

between first order rate constant and pressure drop per unit length for typical DeNOx con-

ditions as a function of structure angle in the flow direction

Figure 4 illustrates that MEC is a superior (SCR) DeNOx catalyst compared to a con-

ventional commercial honeycomb system at typical reaction conditions[4] The utilization

of the small catalyst particles in MEC is very high however there are limits as to how

much catalyst can be loaded onto the fibrous support while still maintaining accessibility

At lower temperatures where the reaction tends to be kinetically controlled an MEC

system tends to lose its advantage The kinetic resistance dominates The volumetric

activity of an MEC is the same as the monolith even with only 65 of catalyst loading

Figure 1 Ceramic MEC DeNOx catalyst

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Dautzenberg4

Fig

ure

2

Pre

ssu

relo

ssv

ersu

sv

elo

city

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235

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 5

Fig

ure

3

ME

Cp

ress

ure

loss

ver

sus

stru

ctu

rean

gle

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282

Dautzenberg6

Although there is no universal solution to all reaction engineering applications

MEC has solved the size versus pressure drop problem for mass-transfer-limited

reactions

Dry Zeolite Synthesis

A second catalyst advance is our ldquoDry Synthesisrdquo zeolite crystallization called

ldquoDrySynrdquo for shortmdashan entirely new way to make zeolites[5] Unlike conventional

methods where the nutrients are dissolved in a caustic solution DrySyn starts with

solid reagents often silica-alumina microspheres similar in size to FCC catalysts These

silica-alumina microspheres are porous and have their own gross morphology Using

the DrySyn method the pores are filled with water caustic and if needed an organic

directing agent below or at the incipient wetness point The particles appear dry hence

the term ldquodry synthesisrdquo DrySyn has several advantages compared to conventional syn-

thesis routes (a) faster crystallization time (b) smaller crystal size (c) ability to control

porosity based on the preformed particlesrsquo properties (d) improved nutrient utilization

and (e) lower environmental impact

Figure 5 is a schematic representation of DrySyn[6] The starting materialmdasha porous

particle usually silica-aluminamdashhas its own characteristic silica-to-alumina ratio and

porosity In the crystallization process the finished product is comprised of many ultra-

small zeolite crystals Figure 6 shows the finished product of three standard zeolites

ZSM-5 zeolite beta and inorganic mordenite[7]

Figure 4 MEC DeNOx activity versus honeycomb

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327

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329

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 7

Fig

ure

5

No

vel

zeo

lite

syn

thes

isp

roce

du

re

ldquoDry

-Sy

nth

esis

rdquo

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376

Dautzenberg8

Fig

ure

6

Co

nv

ersi

on

exam

ple

sfo

rldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquo

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 9

The finished product also retains the gross morphology of the parent microsphere

thereby imparting mesoporosity to the crystal agglomerates This mesopore effect is

easily seen in Fig 7 where the pore size distribution is compared to a commercial catalyst

While both catalysts have a similar share of smaller pores the DrySyn catalyst has

about 70 of its pores in the 30thorn nm range When one considers the impact of composite

resistances in a catalyst it is easy to see the potential benefits of such a pore structure

One example of DrySyn performance is shown in Fig 8 Two fast reactionsmdash

ethylbenzene (EB) and cumene productionmdashare shown for a commercial zeolite beta cat-

alyst and a comparable DrySyn catalyst Based on first-order rate constants the DrySyn

catalyst has a two-fold activity advantage for EB and a 50 activity advantage for

cumene synthesis Even though these molecules are relatively small the mesoporosity

gives a significant performance boost

The DrySyn zeolite procedure is particularly advantageous for inorganic zeolites like

zeolite Y In a high throughput screening study with Avantium many synthesis variables

(eg temperature time NaOH concentration etc) were examined that should favor the

formation of high quality small crystal zeolite Y Some of the results are shown in

Fig 9 Here each line represents one synthesis experiment and the bars describe the

three products unconverted material (Phase 1) the desired Y (Phase 3) and a second

phase (Phase 2) cancrinite By looking at the Y bars one can quickly zero in on the pre-

ferred synthesis conditions to maximize the production of zeolite Y Of course other

factors are also important such as percent crystallinity surface area hydrocarbon sorp-

tion and ultimate crystal size Figure 10 shows the progress made in driving down the

Figure 7 Pore size distribution of two catalysts

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468

469

470

Dautzenberg10

crystal size While most conventional zeolite Y samples are typically 05 micron in size

the resultant DrySyn crystals are an order of magnitude smaller These unusually small

crystals have excellent activity for many hydrocarbon processes

Mesoporous Materials

An area of growing importance is mesoporous materials Since the discovery of

MCM-41[8 ndash 10] in the late 1980s there has been a myriad of articles and patents in this

field Lummus has also been quite active in this field In collaboration with the Technical

University of Delft (the Netherlands) an entirely new group of materials collectively

known as TUD-1[11 ndash 13] has been synthesized TUD-1 is comprised of random three-

dimensional interconnecting pores Unlike the M41S materials and many other mesopor-

ous materials TUD-1 is amorphous and thus has no planes of symmetry and no space

group

TUD-1rsquos amorphous character is shown in Fig 11 which is an electron micrograph of

TUD-1 alongside a ceramic foam of macroscopic scale To conclusively show that the

pores are interconnected a ldquoreverse imagingrdquo technique was developed Here the pores

of a siliceous TUD-1 were filled with sugar molecules that were then carburized The

silica was then dissolved to leave behind only the carbon pore replica The resultant struc-

ture did not collapse conclusively proving that the pores are interconnected

TUD-1 has another important property the pores have a controllable narrow size

distributionmdashtypically from 40 to 120 A with a surface area from 500 to 1000 m2g

Figure 12 shows the trade-off that can be achieved between pore diameter and surface

area Even at the largest pore size the surface area for this Si-TUD-1 is 500 m2gndash20

to 40 higher than typical silica supports

Figure 8 Aromatics alkylation comparison of catalyst performance

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 11

Fig

ure

9

Su

mm

ary

of

HT

Ssy

nth

esis

exp

erim

ents

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Dautzenberg12

These combined properties make TUD-1 an attractive viable catalyst or catalyst

support for many reactions While the major focus has been with alumina silica and

silica-alumina TUD-1 has been made in about 20 different chemical variants As seen

in Table 1 Delft scientists have shown that Ti-TUD-1 is five times more active than its

MCM-41 counterpart for epoxidation even though the surface areas are equivalent[1314]

Figure 10 Comparison of conventional and ldquoDrySynrdquo Y crystallites

Figure 11 Ceramic foam versus TUD-1 an analogy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 13

THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE SIZE AND POROSITY ON

CATALYST ACTIVITY

Catalysts can be custom-tailored for improved performance specifically the well-

known Thiele moduluseffectiveness factor concepts can be applied to demonstrate

mass transfer effects in catalysis The unique features of DrySyn zeolites and TUD-1

are both amenable to this approach

The intrinsic activity [k(o)] can be calculated by measuring the apparent catalyst

activity [k(app)] of a catalyst using two different particle sizes [rp] It follows that

kethappTHORNeth1THORN

kethappTHORNeth2THORNfrac14

heth1THORN

heth2THORNfrac14

3=f1frac121= tanhf1 1=f1

3=f2frac121= tanhf2 1=f2eth1THORN

Figure 12 TUD-1 Trading off pore size and surface area

Table 1 Expoxidation of cyclohexene

Catalysts Surface area m2g Turnover frequency

Ti-MCM-41 921 36

Ti-TUD-1 917 202

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657

658

Dautzenberg14

in which

fi frac14 rpethiTHORN

ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffikethoTHORN

D

reth2THORN

and

hethiTHORN frac14kethappTHORNethiTHORN

kethoTHORNeth3THORN

Through an iterative approximation we establish a value for k(o)D so that Eq (1) is

satisfied For each experimental value of rp we now can calculate f and thus k(o) and

therefore D We subsequently determine k(app) for any value of rp While the effective-

ness factorThiele modulus is usually shown as a log-log plot recasting it on a linear

scale can be quite informative

Figure 13 shows a typical example where this approach has been applied to two differ-

ent zeolite beta catalysts Using ethylbenzene formation as a probe reactive the k(o) of the

DrySyn beta catalyst is 15 higher than the k(o) of the commercial beta catalyst Of indus-

trial importance is the fact that the k(app) for 15 mm DrySyn particles is more than 25

times higher than the k(app) of 15 mm commercial catalyst particles Since the crystal

size of both zeolite beta samples is small (less than 005 micron ultimate crystal size)

the performance difference is probably due to the large number of mesopores in the

DrySyn catalyst which is reflected in the higher value of the effective diffusivity

In addition to altering catalyst activity by different zeolite synthesis routes one can

vary the catalyst support properties for a dramatic impact on catalyst performance This

concept has been shown[1516] to achieve synergistic benefits by combining zeolitic

activity with a mesoporous matrix A specific example is cited here again using the EB

probe reaction Table 2 shows the performance of three alumina-bound commercial Y cata-

lysts and two developmental catalysts using TUD-1 (silica or alumina) as the binding

material (commercial zeolite Y used) The intrinsic activities of the three commercial cata-

lysts reported on a constant zeolite basis are very similar and the intrinsic activities of

the mesoporous Y catalysts are significantly lower However the commercially important

activity is for particles typically greater than 1 mm Figure 14 shows the catalyst activity of

the two types of Y catalysts versus particle size Interestingly although the mesoporous Y

catalyst (here with Si-TUD-1) has a lower intrinsic activity than the commercial Y cata-

lyst the mesoporous Y has triple the activity of the commercial Y catalyst at industrially

relevant particle sizes This activity ldquocross-over effectrdquo is attributable to a tenfold advan-

tage in diffusivity One can quickly see the potential activity advantage that can be

achieved by optimizing the mesoporosity The five catalysts of Table 2 are compared in

Fig 15 Here we see that despite lower intrinsic activities both mesoporous Y catalysts

have superior activity compared to the three commercial Y catalysts at particle size of

15 mm

From the above conclusions one can foresee that another route to raising the overall

catalyst performance is to boost the intrinsic activity of the zeolite itself This concept is

illustrated in Table 3 Again using the EB probe reaction Table 3 shows the performance

of two alumina-bound commercial zeolite beta catalysts and one developmental catalyst

embedded in Si-TUD-1 (commercial zeolite beta used) The second commercial zeolite

beta catalyst (ldquoType IIrdquo) was prepared by a proprietary technique that achieves a

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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660

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697

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699

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701

702

703

704

705

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 15

Fig

ure

13

P

erfo

rman

ceo

fldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquob

eta

ver

sus

com

mer

cial

bet

a(R

ef

ZS

han

etal

M

icro

po

rou

san

dM

ater

ials

20

014

81

81

)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

706

707

708

709

710

711

712

713

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717

718

719

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724

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728

729

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732

733

734

735

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737

738

739

740

741

742

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744

745

746

747

748

749

750

751

752

Dautzenberg16

Ta

ble

2

Yca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

61

50

1C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

I(7

0

)

36

97

8

10

26

15

30

47

03

00

25

68

10

01

00

2C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

II(8

0

)

33

11

11

10

26

15

60

50

03

10

26

79

09

01

05

3C

om

mer

ical

Y4

63

19

5

10

26

23

80

77

04

90

41

89

12

51

65

4M

eso

po

rou

sY

Si-

TU

D-1

(45

8

)

24

71

31

0

10

26

23

11

48

10

50

91

36

80

67

36

3

5M

eso

po

rou

sY

11

59

93

10

26

11

00

73

05

30

47

40

40

31

18

6

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

753

754

755

756

757

758

759

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768

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771

772

773

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776

777

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780

781

782

783

784

785

786

787

788

789

790

791

792

793

794

795

796

797

798

799

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 17

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

800

801

802

803

804

805

806

807

808

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813

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815

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818

819

820

821

822

823

824

825

826

827

828

829

830

831

832

833

834

835

836

837

838

839

840

841

842

843

844

845

846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

847

848

849

850

851

852

853

854

855

856

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859

860

861

862

863

864

865

866

867

868

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870

871

872

873

874

875

876

877

878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

896

897

898

899

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901

902

903

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906

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910

911

912

913

914

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916

917

918

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921

922

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925

926

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928

929

930

931

932

933

934

935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

941

942

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971

972

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975

976

977

978

979

980

981

982

983

984

985

986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

988

989

990

991

992

993

994

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998

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1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

1006

1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

1012

1013

1014

1015

1016

1017

1018

1019

1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1035

1036

1037

1038

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1077

1078

1079

1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

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1082

1083

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1103

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1111

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1120

1121

1122

1123

1124

1125

1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1171

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1173

1174

1175

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1176

1177

1178

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1180

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1191

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1220

1221

1222

Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

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1223

1224

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1234

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1269

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1270

1271

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1310

1311

1312

1313

1314

1315

1316

Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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1318

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1360

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1362

1363

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1364

1365

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1371

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1400

1401

1402

1403

1404

1405

1406

1407

1408

1409

1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1411

1412

1413

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1416

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1418

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1422

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1454

1455

1456

1457

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1458

1459

1460

1461

1462

1463

1464

1465

1466

1467

1468

1469

1470

1471

1472

1473

1474

1475

1476

1477

1478

1479

1480

1481

1482

1483

1484

1485

1486

1487

1488

1489

1490

1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1546

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1550

1551

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1552

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Dautzenberg34

coated onto the microfibers is accessible Lummus has developed specialized coating tech-

niques to ensure that these requirements can be met

While the well known honeycomb monolith exhibits laminar flow MEC is a low-

pressure drop (due to its high void fraction and uniform geometry) turbulent flow struc-

ture This effect is demonstrated in Fig 2 The exponential nature of the pressure drop

versus velocity of a turbulent MEC structure is compared to the linear relationship of a

laminar straight-channel monolith MEC has a clear-cut pressure drop advantage at the

velocities of interest

The geometry of an MEC structure can be easily optimized for minimal pressure drop

and excellent catalyst activity[2] Larger openings and larger angles with respect to flow

direction (with 908 being parallel to flow and 08 being perpendicular to flow) will tend

to decrease pressure drop as well as catalyst activity Figure 3 shows the relationship

between first order rate constant and pressure drop per unit length for typical DeNOx con-

ditions as a function of structure angle in the flow direction

Figure 4 illustrates that MEC is a superior (SCR) DeNOx catalyst compared to a con-

ventional commercial honeycomb system at typical reaction conditions[4] The utilization

of the small catalyst particles in MEC is very high however there are limits as to how

much catalyst can be loaded onto the fibrous support while still maintaining accessibility

At lower temperatures where the reaction tends to be kinetically controlled an MEC

system tends to lose its advantage The kinetic resistance dominates The volumetric

activity of an MEC is the same as the monolith even with only 65 of catalyst loading

Figure 1 Ceramic MEC DeNOx catalyst

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Dautzenberg4

Fig

ure

2

Pre

ssu

relo

ssv

ersu

sv

elo

city

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 5

Fig

ure

3

ME

Cp

ress

ure

loss

ver

sus

stru

ctu

rean

gle

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281

282

Dautzenberg6

Although there is no universal solution to all reaction engineering applications

MEC has solved the size versus pressure drop problem for mass-transfer-limited

reactions

Dry Zeolite Synthesis

A second catalyst advance is our ldquoDry Synthesisrdquo zeolite crystallization called

ldquoDrySynrdquo for shortmdashan entirely new way to make zeolites[5] Unlike conventional

methods where the nutrients are dissolved in a caustic solution DrySyn starts with

solid reagents often silica-alumina microspheres similar in size to FCC catalysts These

silica-alumina microspheres are porous and have their own gross morphology Using

the DrySyn method the pores are filled with water caustic and if needed an organic

directing agent below or at the incipient wetness point The particles appear dry hence

the term ldquodry synthesisrdquo DrySyn has several advantages compared to conventional syn-

thesis routes (a) faster crystallization time (b) smaller crystal size (c) ability to control

porosity based on the preformed particlesrsquo properties (d) improved nutrient utilization

and (e) lower environmental impact

Figure 5 is a schematic representation of DrySyn[6] The starting materialmdasha porous

particle usually silica-aluminamdashhas its own characteristic silica-to-alumina ratio and

porosity In the crystallization process the finished product is comprised of many ultra-

small zeolite crystals Figure 6 shows the finished product of three standard zeolites

ZSM-5 zeolite beta and inorganic mordenite[7]

Figure 4 MEC DeNOx activity versus honeycomb

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327

328

329

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 7

Fig

ure

5

No

vel

zeo

lite

syn

thes

isp

roce

du

re

ldquoDry

-Sy

nth

esis

rdquo

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375

376

Dautzenberg8

Fig

ure

6

Co

nv

ersi

on

exam

ple

sfo

rldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquo

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423

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 9

The finished product also retains the gross morphology of the parent microsphere

thereby imparting mesoporosity to the crystal agglomerates This mesopore effect is

easily seen in Fig 7 where the pore size distribution is compared to a commercial catalyst

While both catalysts have a similar share of smaller pores the DrySyn catalyst has

about 70 of its pores in the 30thorn nm range When one considers the impact of composite

resistances in a catalyst it is easy to see the potential benefits of such a pore structure

One example of DrySyn performance is shown in Fig 8 Two fast reactionsmdash

ethylbenzene (EB) and cumene productionmdashare shown for a commercial zeolite beta cat-

alyst and a comparable DrySyn catalyst Based on first-order rate constants the DrySyn

catalyst has a two-fold activity advantage for EB and a 50 activity advantage for

cumene synthesis Even though these molecules are relatively small the mesoporosity

gives a significant performance boost

The DrySyn zeolite procedure is particularly advantageous for inorganic zeolites like

zeolite Y In a high throughput screening study with Avantium many synthesis variables

(eg temperature time NaOH concentration etc) were examined that should favor the

formation of high quality small crystal zeolite Y Some of the results are shown in

Fig 9 Here each line represents one synthesis experiment and the bars describe the

three products unconverted material (Phase 1) the desired Y (Phase 3) and a second

phase (Phase 2) cancrinite By looking at the Y bars one can quickly zero in on the pre-

ferred synthesis conditions to maximize the production of zeolite Y Of course other

factors are also important such as percent crystallinity surface area hydrocarbon sorp-

tion and ultimate crystal size Figure 10 shows the progress made in driving down the

Figure 7 Pore size distribution of two catalysts

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467

468

469

470

Dautzenberg10

crystal size While most conventional zeolite Y samples are typically 05 micron in size

the resultant DrySyn crystals are an order of magnitude smaller These unusually small

crystals have excellent activity for many hydrocarbon processes

Mesoporous Materials

An area of growing importance is mesoporous materials Since the discovery of

MCM-41[8 ndash 10] in the late 1980s there has been a myriad of articles and patents in this

field Lummus has also been quite active in this field In collaboration with the Technical

University of Delft (the Netherlands) an entirely new group of materials collectively

known as TUD-1[11 ndash 13] has been synthesized TUD-1 is comprised of random three-

dimensional interconnecting pores Unlike the M41S materials and many other mesopor-

ous materials TUD-1 is amorphous and thus has no planes of symmetry and no space

group

TUD-1rsquos amorphous character is shown in Fig 11 which is an electron micrograph of

TUD-1 alongside a ceramic foam of macroscopic scale To conclusively show that the

pores are interconnected a ldquoreverse imagingrdquo technique was developed Here the pores

of a siliceous TUD-1 were filled with sugar molecules that were then carburized The

silica was then dissolved to leave behind only the carbon pore replica The resultant struc-

ture did not collapse conclusively proving that the pores are interconnected

TUD-1 has another important property the pores have a controllable narrow size

distributionmdashtypically from 40 to 120 A with a surface area from 500 to 1000 m2g

Figure 12 shows the trade-off that can be achieved between pore diameter and surface

area Even at the largest pore size the surface area for this Si-TUD-1 is 500 m2gndash20

to 40 higher than typical silica supports

Figure 8 Aromatics alkylation comparison of catalyst performance

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 11

Fig

ure

9

Su

mm

ary

of

HT

Ssy

nth

esis

exp

erim

ents

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Dautzenberg12

These combined properties make TUD-1 an attractive viable catalyst or catalyst

support for many reactions While the major focus has been with alumina silica and

silica-alumina TUD-1 has been made in about 20 different chemical variants As seen

in Table 1 Delft scientists have shown that Ti-TUD-1 is five times more active than its

MCM-41 counterpart for epoxidation even though the surface areas are equivalent[1314]

Figure 10 Comparison of conventional and ldquoDrySynrdquo Y crystallites

Figure 11 Ceramic foam versus TUD-1 an analogy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

565

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611

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 13

THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE SIZE AND POROSITY ON

CATALYST ACTIVITY

Catalysts can be custom-tailored for improved performance specifically the well-

known Thiele moduluseffectiveness factor concepts can be applied to demonstrate

mass transfer effects in catalysis The unique features of DrySyn zeolites and TUD-1

are both amenable to this approach

The intrinsic activity [k(o)] can be calculated by measuring the apparent catalyst

activity [k(app)] of a catalyst using two different particle sizes [rp] It follows that

kethappTHORNeth1THORN

kethappTHORNeth2THORNfrac14

heth1THORN

heth2THORNfrac14

3=f1frac121= tanhf1 1=f1

3=f2frac121= tanhf2 1=f2eth1THORN

Figure 12 TUD-1 Trading off pore size and surface area

Table 1 Expoxidation of cyclohexene

Catalysts Surface area m2g Turnover frequency

Ti-MCM-41 921 36

Ti-TUD-1 917 202

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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657

658

Dautzenberg14

in which

fi frac14 rpethiTHORN

ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffikethoTHORN

D

reth2THORN

and

hethiTHORN frac14kethappTHORNethiTHORN

kethoTHORNeth3THORN

Through an iterative approximation we establish a value for k(o)D so that Eq (1) is

satisfied For each experimental value of rp we now can calculate f and thus k(o) and

therefore D We subsequently determine k(app) for any value of rp While the effective-

ness factorThiele modulus is usually shown as a log-log plot recasting it on a linear

scale can be quite informative

Figure 13 shows a typical example where this approach has been applied to two differ-

ent zeolite beta catalysts Using ethylbenzene formation as a probe reactive the k(o) of the

DrySyn beta catalyst is 15 higher than the k(o) of the commercial beta catalyst Of indus-

trial importance is the fact that the k(app) for 15 mm DrySyn particles is more than 25

times higher than the k(app) of 15 mm commercial catalyst particles Since the crystal

size of both zeolite beta samples is small (less than 005 micron ultimate crystal size)

the performance difference is probably due to the large number of mesopores in the

DrySyn catalyst which is reflected in the higher value of the effective diffusivity

In addition to altering catalyst activity by different zeolite synthesis routes one can

vary the catalyst support properties for a dramatic impact on catalyst performance This

concept has been shown[1516] to achieve synergistic benefits by combining zeolitic

activity with a mesoporous matrix A specific example is cited here again using the EB

probe reaction Table 2 shows the performance of three alumina-bound commercial Y cata-

lysts and two developmental catalysts using TUD-1 (silica or alumina) as the binding

material (commercial zeolite Y used) The intrinsic activities of the three commercial cata-

lysts reported on a constant zeolite basis are very similar and the intrinsic activities of

the mesoporous Y catalysts are significantly lower However the commercially important

activity is for particles typically greater than 1 mm Figure 14 shows the catalyst activity of

the two types of Y catalysts versus particle size Interestingly although the mesoporous Y

catalyst (here with Si-TUD-1) has a lower intrinsic activity than the commercial Y cata-

lyst the mesoporous Y has triple the activity of the commercial Y catalyst at industrially

relevant particle sizes This activity ldquocross-over effectrdquo is attributable to a tenfold advan-

tage in diffusivity One can quickly see the potential activity advantage that can be

achieved by optimizing the mesoporosity The five catalysts of Table 2 are compared in

Fig 15 Here we see that despite lower intrinsic activities both mesoporous Y catalysts

have superior activity compared to the three commercial Y catalysts at particle size of

15 mm

From the above conclusions one can foresee that another route to raising the overall

catalyst performance is to boost the intrinsic activity of the zeolite itself This concept is

illustrated in Table 3 Again using the EB probe reaction Table 3 shows the performance

of two alumina-bound commercial zeolite beta catalysts and one developmental catalyst

embedded in Si-TUD-1 (commercial zeolite beta used) The second commercial zeolite

beta catalyst (ldquoType IIrdquo) was prepared by a proprietary technique that achieves a

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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660

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695

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699

700

701

702

703

704

705

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 15

Fig

ure

13

P

erfo

rman

ceo

fldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquob

eta

ver

sus

com

mer

cial

bet

a(R

ef

ZS

han

etal

M

icro

po

rou

san

dM

ater

ials

20

014

81

81

)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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707

708

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744

745

746

747

748

749

750

751

752

Dautzenberg16

Ta

ble

2

Yca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

61

50

1C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

I(7

0

)

36

97

8

10

26

15

30

47

03

00

25

68

10

01

00

2C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

II(8

0

)

33

11

11

10

26

15

60

50

03

10

26

79

09

01

05

3C

om

mer

ical

Y4

63

19

5

10

26

23

80

77

04

90

41

89

12

51

65

4M

eso

po

rou

sY

Si-

TU

D-1

(45

8

)

24

71

31

0

10

26

23

11

48

10

50

91

36

80

67

36

3

5M

eso

po

rou

sY

11

59

93

10

26

11

00

73

05

30

47

40

40

31

18

6

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

753

754

755

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757

758

759

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763

764

765

766

767

768

769

770

771

772

773

774

775

776

777

778

779

780

781

782

783

784

785

786

787

788

789

790

791

792

793

794

795

796

797

798

799

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 17

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

800

801

802

803

804

805

806

807

808

809

810

811

812

813

814

815

816

817

818

819

820

821

822

823

824

825

826

827

828

829

830

831

832

833

834

835

836

837

838

839

840

841

842

843

844

845

846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

847

848

849

850

851

852

853

854

855

856

857

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859

860

861

862

863

864

865

866

867

868

869

870

871

872

873

874

875

876

877

878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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930

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932

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935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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978

979

980

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986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1002

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1008

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1016

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1021

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1024

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1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

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1080

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

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Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

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Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

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Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

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Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1485

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1493

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1496

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1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1506

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg34

Fig

ure

2

Pre

ssu

relo

ssv

ersu

sv

elo

city

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232

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234

235

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 5

Fig

ure

3

ME

Cp

ress

ure

loss

ver

sus

stru

ctu

rean

gle

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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278

279

280

281

282

Dautzenberg6

Although there is no universal solution to all reaction engineering applications

MEC has solved the size versus pressure drop problem for mass-transfer-limited

reactions

Dry Zeolite Synthesis

A second catalyst advance is our ldquoDry Synthesisrdquo zeolite crystallization called

ldquoDrySynrdquo for shortmdashan entirely new way to make zeolites[5] Unlike conventional

methods where the nutrients are dissolved in a caustic solution DrySyn starts with

solid reagents often silica-alumina microspheres similar in size to FCC catalysts These

silica-alumina microspheres are porous and have their own gross morphology Using

the DrySyn method the pores are filled with water caustic and if needed an organic

directing agent below or at the incipient wetness point The particles appear dry hence

the term ldquodry synthesisrdquo DrySyn has several advantages compared to conventional syn-

thesis routes (a) faster crystallization time (b) smaller crystal size (c) ability to control

porosity based on the preformed particlesrsquo properties (d) improved nutrient utilization

and (e) lower environmental impact

Figure 5 is a schematic representation of DrySyn[6] The starting materialmdasha porous

particle usually silica-aluminamdashhas its own characteristic silica-to-alumina ratio and

porosity In the crystallization process the finished product is comprised of many ultra-

small zeolite crystals Figure 6 shows the finished product of three standard zeolites

ZSM-5 zeolite beta and inorganic mordenite[7]

Figure 4 MEC DeNOx activity versus honeycomb

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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314

315

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317

318

319

320

321

322

323

324

325

326

327

328

329

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 7

Fig

ure

5

No

vel

zeo

lite

syn

thes

isp

roce

du

re

ldquoDry

-Sy

nth

esis

rdquo

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

330

331

332

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358

359

360

361

362

363

364

365

366

367

368

369

370

371

372

373

374

375

376

Dautzenberg8

Fig

ure

6

Co

nv

ersi

on

exam

ple

sfo

rldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquo

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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378

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387

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401

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404

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407

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412

413

414

415

416

417

418

419

420

421

422

423

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 9

The finished product also retains the gross morphology of the parent microsphere

thereby imparting mesoporosity to the crystal agglomerates This mesopore effect is

easily seen in Fig 7 where the pore size distribution is compared to a commercial catalyst

While both catalysts have a similar share of smaller pores the DrySyn catalyst has

about 70 of its pores in the 30thorn nm range When one considers the impact of composite

resistances in a catalyst it is easy to see the potential benefits of such a pore structure

One example of DrySyn performance is shown in Fig 8 Two fast reactionsmdash

ethylbenzene (EB) and cumene productionmdashare shown for a commercial zeolite beta cat-

alyst and a comparable DrySyn catalyst Based on first-order rate constants the DrySyn

catalyst has a two-fold activity advantage for EB and a 50 activity advantage for

cumene synthesis Even though these molecules are relatively small the mesoporosity

gives a significant performance boost

The DrySyn zeolite procedure is particularly advantageous for inorganic zeolites like

zeolite Y In a high throughput screening study with Avantium many synthesis variables

(eg temperature time NaOH concentration etc) were examined that should favor the

formation of high quality small crystal zeolite Y Some of the results are shown in

Fig 9 Here each line represents one synthesis experiment and the bars describe the

three products unconverted material (Phase 1) the desired Y (Phase 3) and a second

phase (Phase 2) cancrinite By looking at the Y bars one can quickly zero in on the pre-

ferred synthesis conditions to maximize the production of zeolite Y Of course other

factors are also important such as percent crystallinity surface area hydrocarbon sorp-

tion and ultimate crystal size Figure 10 shows the progress made in driving down the

Figure 7 Pore size distribution of two catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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453

454

455

456

457

458

459

460

461

462

463

464

465

466

467

468

469

470

Dautzenberg10

crystal size While most conventional zeolite Y samples are typically 05 micron in size

the resultant DrySyn crystals are an order of magnitude smaller These unusually small

crystals have excellent activity for many hydrocarbon processes

Mesoporous Materials

An area of growing importance is mesoporous materials Since the discovery of

MCM-41[8 ndash 10] in the late 1980s there has been a myriad of articles and patents in this

field Lummus has also been quite active in this field In collaboration with the Technical

University of Delft (the Netherlands) an entirely new group of materials collectively

known as TUD-1[11 ndash 13] has been synthesized TUD-1 is comprised of random three-

dimensional interconnecting pores Unlike the M41S materials and many other mesopor-

ous materials TUD-1 is amorphous and thus has no planes of symmetry and no space

group

TUD-1rsquos amorphous character is shown in Fig 11 which is an electron micrograph of

TUD-1 alongside a ceramic foam of macroscopic scale To conclusively show that the

pores are interconnected a ldquoreverse imagingrdquo technique was developed Here the pores

of a siliceous TUD-1 were filled with sugar molecules that were then carburized The

silica was then dissolved to leave behind only the carbon pore replica The resultant struc-

ture did not collapse conclusively proving that the pores are interconnected

TUD-1 has another important property the pores have a controllable narrow size

distributionmdashtypically from 40 to 120 A with a surface area from 500 to 1000 m2g

Figure 12 shows the trade-off that can be achieved between pore diameter and surface

area Even at the largest pore size the surface area for this Si-TUD-1 is 500 m2gndash20

to 40 higher than typical silica supports

Figure 8 Aromatics alkylation comparison of catalyst performance

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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501

502

503

504

505

506

507

508

509

510

511

512

513

514

515

516

517

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 11

Fig

ure

9

Su

mm

ary

of

HT

Ssy

nth

esis

exp

erim

ents

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

518

519

520

521

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530

531

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541

542

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548

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550

551

552

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554

555

556

557

558

559

560

561

562

563

564

Dautzenberg12

These combined properties make TUD-1 an attractive viable catalyst or catalyst

support for many reactions While the major focus has been with alumina silica and

silica-alumina TUD-1 has been made in about 20 different chemical variants As seen

in Table 1 Delft scientists have shown that Ti-TUD-1 is five times more active than its

MCM-41 counterpart for epoxidation even though the surface areas are equivalent[1314]

Figure 10 Comparison of conventional and ldquoDrySynrdquo Y crystallites

Figure 11 Ceramic foam versus TUD-1 an analogy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

565

566

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598

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600

601

602

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604

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606

607

608

609

610

611

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 13

THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE SIZE AND POROSITY ON

CATALYST ACTIVITY

Catalysts can be custom-tailored for improved performance specifically the well-

known Thiele moduluseffectiveness factor concepts can be applied to demonstrate

mass transfer effects in catalysis The unique features of DrySyn zeolites and TUD-1

are both amenable to this approach

The intrinsic activity [k(o)] can be calculated by measuring the apparent catalyst

activity [k(app)] of a catalyst using two different particle sizes [rp] It follows that

kethappTHORNeth1THORN

kethappTHORNeth2THORNfrac14

heth1THORN

heth2THORNfrac14

3=f1frac121= tanhf1 1=f1

3=f2frac121= tanhf2 1=f2eth1THORN

Figure 12 TUD-1 Trading off pore size and surface area

Table 1 Expoxidation of cyclohexene

Catalysts Surface area m2g Turnover frequency

Ti-MCM-41 921 36

Ti-TUD-1 917 202

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

612

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632

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634

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638

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640

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642

643

644

645

646

647

648

649

650

651

652

653

654

655

656

657

658

Dautzenberg14

in which

fi frac14 rpethiTHORN

ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffikethoTHORN

D

reth2THORN

and

hethiTHORN frac14kethappTHORNethiTHORN

kethoTHORNeth3THORN

Through an iterative approximation we establish a value for k(o)D so that Eq (1) is

satisfied For each experimental value of rp we now can calculate f and thus k(o) and

therefore D We subsequently determine k(app) for any value of rp While the effective-

ness factorThiele modulus is usually shown as a log-log plot recasting it on a linear

scale can be quite informative

Figure 13 shows a typical example where this approach has been applied to two differ-

ent zeolite beta catalysts Using ethylbenzene formation as a probe reactive the k(o) of the

DrySyn beta catalyst is 15 higher than the k(o) of the commercial beta catalyst Of indus-

trial importance is the fact that the k(app) for 15 mm DrySyn particles is more than 25

times higher than the k(app) of 15 mm commercial catalyst particles Since the crystal

size of both zeolite beta samples is small (less than 005 micron ultimate crystal size)

the performance difference is probably due to the large number of mesopores in the

DrySyn catalyst which is reflected in the higher value of the effective diffusivity

In addition to altering catalyst activity by different zeolite synthesis routes one can

vary the catalyst support properties for a dramatic impact on catalyst performance This

concept has been shown[1516] to achieve synergistic benefits by combining zeolitic

activity with a mesoporous matrix A specific example is cited here again using the EB

probe reaction Table 2 shows the performance of three alumina-bound commercial Y cata-

lysts and two developmental catalysts using TUD-1 (silica or alumina) as the binding

material (commercial zeolite Y used) The intrinsic activities of the three commercial cata-

lysts reported on a constant zeolite basis are very similar and the intrinsic activities of

the mesoporous Y catalysts are significantly lower However the commercially important

activity is for particles typically greater than 1 mm Figure 14 shows the catalyst activity of

the two types of Y catalysts versus particle size Interestingly although the mesoporous Y

catalyst (here with Si-TUD-1) has a lower intrinsic activity than the commercial Y cata-

lyst the mesoporous Y has triple the activity of the commercial Y catalyst at industrially

relevant particle sizes This activity ldquocross-over effectrdquo is attributable to a tenfold advan-

tage in diffusivity One can quickly see the potential activity advantage that can be

achieved by optimizing the mesoporosity The five catalysts of Table 2 are compared in

Fig 15 Here we see that despite lower intrinsic activities both mesoporous Y catalysts

have superior activity compared to the three commercial Y catalysts at particle size of

15 mm

From the above conclusions one can foresee that another route to raising the overall

catalyst performance is to boost the intrinsic activity of the zeolite itself This concept is

illustrated in Table 3 Again using the EB probe reaction Table 3 shows the performance

of two alumina-bound commercial zeolite beta catalysts and one developmental catalyst

embedded in Si-TUD-1 (commercial zeolite beta used) The second commercial zeolite

beta catalyst (ldquoType IIrdquo) was prepared by a proprietary technique that achieves a

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

659

660

661

662

663

664

665

666

667

668

669

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671

672

673

674

675

676

677

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680

681

682

683

684

685

686

687

688

689

690

691

692

693

694

695

696

697

698

699

700

701

702

703

704

705

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 15

Fig

ure

13

P

erfo

rman

ceo

fldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquob

eta

ver

sus

com

mer

cial

bet

a(R

ef

ZS

han

etal

M

icro

po

rou

san

dM

ater

ials

20

014

81

81

)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

706

707

708

709

710

711

712

713

714

715

716

717

718

719

720

721

722

723

724

725

726

727

728

729

730

731

732

733

734

735

736

737

738

739

740

741

742

743

744

745

746

747

748

749

750

751

752

Dautzenberg16

Ta

ble

2

Yca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

61

50

1C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

I(7

0

)

36

97

8

10

26

15

30

47

03

00

25

68

10

01

00

2C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

II(8

0

)

33

11

11

10

26

15

60

50

03

10

26

79

09

01

05

3C

om

mer

ical

Y4

63

19

5

10

26

23

80

77

04

90

41

89

12

51

65

4M

eso

po

rou

sY

Si-

TU

D-1

(45

8

)

24

71

31

0

10

26

23

11

48

10

50

91

36

80

67

36

3

5M

eso

po

rou

sY

11

59

93

10

26

11

00

73

05

30

47

40

40

31

18

6

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

753

754

755

756

757

758

759

760

761

762

763

764

765

766

767

768

769

770

771

772

773

774

775

776

777

778

779

780

781

782

783

784

785

786

787

788

789

790

791

792

793

794

795

796

797

798

799

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 17

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

800

801

802

803

804

805

806

807

808

809

810

811

812

813

814

815

816

817

818

819

820

821

822

823

824

825

826

827

828

829

830

831

832

833

834

835

836

837

838

839

840

841

842

843

844

845

846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

847

848

849

850

851

852

853

854

855

856

857

858

859

860

861

862

863

864

865

866

867

868

869

870

871

872

873

874

875

876

877

878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

896

897

898

899

900

901

902

903

904

905

906

907

908

909

910

911

912

913

914

915

916

917

918

919

920

921

922

923

924

925

926

927

928

929

930

931

932

933

934

935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

941

942

943

944

945

946

947

948

949

950

951

952

953

954

955

956

957

958

959

960

961

962

963

964

965

966

967

968

969

970

971

972

973

974

975

976

977

978

979

980

981

982

983

984

985

986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

988

989

990

991

992

993

994

995

996

997

998

999

1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

1006

1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

1012

1013

1014

1015

1016

1017

1018

1019

1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

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1036

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1038

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1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

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1111

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1121

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1124

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1126

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1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

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Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

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Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

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1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

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1506

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

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Dautzenberg34

Fig

ure

3

ME

Cp

ress

ure

loss

ver

sus

stru

ctu

rean

gle

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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281

282

Dautzenberg6

Although there is no universal solution to all reaction engineering applications

MEC has solved the size versus pressure drop problem for mass-transfer-limited

reactions

Dry Zeolite Synthesis

A second catalyst advance is our ldquoDry Synthesisrdquo zeolite crystallization called

ldquoDrySynrdquo for shortmdashan entirely new way to make zeolites[5] Unlike conventional

methods where the nutrients are dissolved in a caustic solution DrySyn starts with

solid reagents often silica-alumina microspheres similar in size to FCC catalysts These

silica-alumina microspheres are porous and have their own gross morphology Using

the DrySyn method the pores are filled with water caustic and if needed an organic

directing agent below or at the incipient wetness point The particles appear dry hence

the term ldquodry synthesisrdquo DrySyn has several advantages compared to conventional syn-

thesis routes (a) faster crystallization time (b) smaller crystal size (c) ability to control

porosity based on the preformed particlesrsquo properties (d) improved nutrient utilization

and (e) lower environmental impact

Figure 5 is a schematic representation of DrySyn[6] The starting materialmdasha porous

particle usually silica-aluminamdashhas its own characteristic silica-to-alumina ratio and

porosity In the crystallization process the finished product is comprised of many ultra-

small zeolite crystals Figure 6 shows the finished product of three standard zeolites

ZSM-5 zeolite beta and inorganic mordenite[7]

Figure 4 MEC DeNOx activity versus honeycomb

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319

320

321

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323

324

325

326

327

328

329

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 7

Fig

ure

5

No

vel

zeo

lite

syn

thes

isp

roce

du

re

ldquoDry

-Sy

nth

esis

rdquo

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

330

331

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371

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373

374

375

376

Dautzenberg8

Fig

ure

6

Co

nv

ersi

on

exam

ple

sfo

rldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquo

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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378

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415

416

417

418

419

420

421

422

423

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 9

The finished product also retains the gross morphology of the parent microsphere

thereby imparting mesoporosity to the crystal agglomerates This mesopore effect is

easily seen in Fig 7 where the pore size distribution is compared to a commercial catalyst

While both catalysts have a similar share of smaller pores the DrySyn catalyst has

about 70 of its pores in the 30thorn nm range When one considers the impact of composite

resistances in a catalyst it is easy to see the potential benefits of such a pore structure

One example of DrySyn performance is shown in Fig 8 Two fast reactionsmdash

ethylbenzene (EB) and cumene productionmdashare shown for a commercial zeolite beta cat-

alyst and a comparable DrySyn catalyst Based on first-order rate constants the DrySyn

catalyst has a two-fold activity advantage for EB and a 50 activity advantage for

cumene synthesis Even though these molecules are relatively small the mesoporosity

gives a significant performance boost

The DrySyn zeolite procedure is particularly advantageous for inorganic zeolites like

zeolite Y In a high throughput screening study with Avantium many synthesis variables

(eg temperature time NaOH concentration etc) were examined that should favor the

formation of high quality small crystal zeolite Y Some of the results are shown in

Fig 9 Here each line represents one synthesis experiment and the bars describe the

three products unconverted material (Phase 1) the desired Y (Phase 3) and a second

phase (Phase 2) cancrinite By looking at the Y bars one can quickly zero in on the pre-

ferred synthesis conditions to maximize the production of zeolite Y Of course other

factors are also important such as percent crystallinity surface area hydrocarbon sorp-

tion and ultimate crystal size Figure 10 shows the progress made in driving down the

Figure 7 Pore size distribution of two catalysts

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453

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455

456

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458

459

460

461

462

463

464

465

466

467

468

469

470

Dautzenberg10

crystal size While most conventional zeolite Y samples are typically 05 micron in size

the resultant DrySyn crystals are an order of magnitude smaller These unusually small

crystals have excellent activity for many hydrocarbon processes

Mesoporous Materials

An area of growing importance is mesoporous materials Since the discovery of

MCM-41[8 ndash 10] in the late 1980s there has been a myriad of articles and patents in this

field Lummus has also been quite active in this field In collaboration with the Technical

University of Delft (the Netherlands) an entirely new group of materials collectively

known as TUD-1[11 ndash 13] has been synthesized TUD-1 is comprised of random three-

dimensional interconnecting pores Unlike the M41S materials and many other mesopor-

ous materials TUD-1 is amorphous and thus has no planes of symmetry and no space

group

TUD-1rsquos amorphous character is shown in Fig 11 which is an electron micrograph of

TUD-1 alongside a ceramic foam of macroscopic scale To conclusively show that the

pores are interconnected a ldquoreverse imagingrdquo technique was developed Here the pores

of a siliceous TUD-1 were filled with sugar molecules that were then carburized The

silica was then dissolved to leave behind only the carbon pore replica The resultant struc-

ture did not collapse conclusively proving that the pores are interconnected

TUD-1 has another important property the pores have a controllable narrow size

distributionmdashtypically from 40 to 120 A with a surface area from 500 to 1000 m2g

Figure 12 shows the trade-off that can be achieved between pore diameter and surface

area Even at the largest pore size the surface area for this Si-TUD-1 is 500 m2gndash20

to 40 higher than typical silica supports

Figure 8 Aromatics alkylation comparison of catalyst performance

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

471

472

473

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490

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492

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500

501

502

503

504

505

506

507

508

509

510

511

512

513

514

515

516

517

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 11

Fig

ure

9

Su

mm

ary

of

HT

Ssy

nth

esis

exp

erim

ents

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

518

519

520

521

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523

524

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528

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530

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532

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538

539

540

541

542

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546

547

548

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550

551

552

553

554

555

556

557

558

559

560

561

562

563

564

Dautzenberg12

These combined properties make TUD-1 an attractive viable catalyst or catalyst

support for many reactions While the major focus has been with alumina silica and

silica-alumina TUD-1 has been made in about 20 different chemical variants As seen

in Table 1 Delft scientists have shown that Ti-TUD-1 is five times more active than its

MCM-41 counterpart for epoxidation even though the surface areas are equivalent[1314]

Figure 10 Comparison of conventional and ldquoDrySynrdquo Y crystallites

Figure 11 Ceramic foam versus TUD-1 an analogy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

565

566

567

568

569

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577

578

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591

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594

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596

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598

599

600

601

602

603

604

605

606

607

608

609

610

611

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 13

THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE SIZE AND POROSITY ON

CATALYST ACTIVITY

Catalysts can be custom-tailored for improved performance specifically the well-

known Thiele moduluseffectiveness factor concepts can be applied to demonstrate

mass transfer effects in catalysis The unique features of DrySyn zeolites and TUD-1

are both amenable to this approach

The intrinsic activity [k(o)] can be calculated by measuring the apparent catalyst

activity [k(app)] of a catalyst using two different particle sizes [rp] It follows that

kethappTHORNeth1THORN

kethappTHORNeth2THORNfrac14

heth1THORN

heth2THORNfrac14

3=f1frac121= tanhf1 1=f1

3=f2frac121= tanhf2 1=f2eth1THORN

Figure 12 TUD-1 Trading off pore size and surface area

Table 1 Expoxidation of cyclohexene

Catalysts Surface area m2g Turnover frequency

Ti-MCM-41 921 36

Ti-TUD-1 917 202

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

612

613

614

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619

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622

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628

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632

633

634

635

636

637

638

639

640

641

642

643

644

645

646

647

648

649

650

651

652

653

654

655

656

657

658

Dautzenberg14

in which

fi frac14 rpethiTHORN

ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffikethoTHORN

D

reth2THORN

and

hethiTHORN frac14kethappTHORNethiTHORN

kethoTHORNeth3THORN

Through an iterative approximation we establish a value for k(o)D so that Eq (1) is

satisfied For each experimental value of rp we now can calculate f and thus k(o) and

therefore D We subsequently determine k(app) for any value of rp While the effective-

ness factorThiele modulus is usually shown as a log-log plot recasting it on a linear

scale can be quite informative

Figure 13 shows a typical example where this approach has been applied to two differ-

ent zeolite beta catalysts Using ethylbenzene formation as a probe reactive the k(o) of the

DrySyn beta catalyst is 15 higher than the k(o) of the commercial beta catalyst Of indus-

trial importance is the fact that the k(app) for 15 mm DrySyn particles is more than 25

times higher than the k(app) of 15 mm commercial catalyst particles Since the crystal

size of both zeolite beta samples is small (less than 005 micron ultimate crystal size)

the performance difference is probably due to the large number of mesopores in the

DrySyn catalyst which is reflected in the higher value of the effective diffusivity

In addition to altering catalyst activity by different zeolite synthesis routes one can

vary the catalyst support properties for a dramatic impact on catalyst performance This

concept has been shown[1516] to achieve synergistic benefits by combining zeolitic

activity with a mesoporous matrix A specific example is cited here again using the EB

probe reaction Table 2 shows the performance of three alumina-bound commercial Y cata-

lysts and two developmental catalysts using TUD-1 (silica or alumina) as the binding

material (commercial zeolite Y used) The intrinsic activities of the three commercial cata-

lysts reported on a constant zeolite basis are very similar and the intrinsic activities of

the mesoporous Y catalysts are significantly lower However the commercially important

activity is for particles typically greater than 1 mm Figure 14 shows the catalyst activity of

the two types of Y catalysts versus particle size Interestingly although the mesoporous Y

catalyst (here with Si-TUD-1) has a lower intrinsic activity than the commercial Y cata-

lyst the mesoporous Y has triple the activity of the commercial Y catalyst at industrially

relevant particle sizes This activity ldquocross-over effectrdquo is attributable to a tenfold advan-

tage in diffusivity One can quickly see the potential activity advantage that can be

achieved by optimizing the mesoporosity The five catalysts of Table 2 are compared in

Fig 15 Here we see that despite lower intrinsic activities both mesoporous Y catalysts

have superior activity compared to the three commercial Y catalysts at particle size of

15 mm

From the above conclusions one can foresee that another route to raising the overall

catalyst performance is to boost the intrinsic activity of the zeolite itself This concept is

illustrated in Table 3 Again using the EB probe reaction Table 3 shows the performance

of two alumina-bound commercial zeolite beta catalysts and one developmental catalyst

embedded in Si-TUD-1 (commercial zeolite beta used) The second commercial zeolite

beta catalyst (ldquoType IIrdquo) was prepared by a proprietary technique that achieves a

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

659

660

661

662

663

664

665

666

667

668

669

670

671

672

673

674

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676

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680

681

682

683

684

685

686

687

688

689

690

691

692

693

694

695

696

697

698

699

700

701

702

703

704

705

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 15

Fig

ure

13

P

erfo

rman

ceo

fldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquob

eta

ver

sus

com

mer

cial

bet

a(R

ef

ZS

han

etal

M

icro

po

rou

san

dM

ater

ials

20

014

81

81

)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

706

707

708

709

710

711

712

713

714

715

716

717

718

719

720

721

722

723

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725

726

727

728

729

730

731

732

733

734

735

736

737

738

739

740

741

742

743

744

745

746

747

748

749

750

751

752

Dautzenberg16

Ta

ble

2

Yca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

61

50

1C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

I(7

0

)

36

97

8

10

26

15

30

47

03

00

25

68

10

01

00

2C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

II(8

0

)

33

11

11

10

26

15

60

50

03

10

26

79

09

01

05

3C

om

mer

ical

Y4

63

19

5

10

26

23

80

77

04

90

41

89

12

51

65

4M

eso

po

rou

sY

Si-

TU

D-1

(45

8

)

24

71

31

0

10

26

23

11

48

10

50

91

36

80

67

36

3

5M

eso

po

rou

sY

11

59

93

10

26

11

00

73

05

30

47

40

40

31

18

6

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

753

754

755

756

757

758

759

760

761

762

763

764

765

766

767

768

769

770

771

772

773

774

775

776

777

778

779

780

781

782

783

784

785

786

787

788

789

790

791

792

793

794

795

796

797

798

799

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 17

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

800

801

802

803

804

805

806

807

808

809

810

811

812

813

814

815

816

817

818

819

820

821

822

823

824

825

826

827

828

829

830

831

832

833

834

835

836

837

838

839

840

841

842

843

844

845

846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

847

848

849

850

851

852

853

854

855

856

857

858

859

860

861

862

863

864

865

866

867

868

869

870

871

872

873

874

875

876

877

878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

896

897

898

899

900

901

902

903

904

905

906

907

908

909

910

911

912

913

914

915

916

917

918

919

920

921

922

923

924

925

926

927

928

929

930

931

932

933

934

935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

941

942

943

944

945

946

947

948

949

950

951

952

953

954

955

956

957

958

959

960

961

962

963

964

965

966

967

968

969

970

971

972

973

974

975

976

977

978

979

980

981

982

983

984

985

986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

988

989

990

991

992

993

994

995

996

997

998

999

1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

1006

1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

1012

1013

1014

1015

1016

1017

1018

1019

1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1035

1036

1037

1038

1039

1040

1041

1042

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1050

1051

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1068

1069

1070

1071

1072

1073

1074

1075

1076

1077

1078

1079

1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1082

1083

1084

1085

1086

1087

1088

1089

1090

1091

1092

1093

1094

1095

1096

1097

1098

1099

1100

1101

1102

1103

1104

1105

1106

1107

1108

1109

1110

1111

1112

1113

1114

1115

1116

1117

1118

1119

1120

1121

1122

1123

1124

1125

1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1129

1130

1131

1132

1133

1134

1135

1136

1137

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1144

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1158

1159

1160

1161

1162

1163

1164

1165

1166

1167

1168

1169

1170

1171

1172

1173

1174

1175

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1176

1177

1178

1179

1180

1181

1182

1183

1184

1185

1186

1187

1188

1189

1190

1191

1192

1193

1194

1195

1196

1197

1198

1199

1200

1201

1202

1203

1204

1205

1206

1207

1208

1209

1210

1211

1212

1213

1214

1215

1216

1217

1218

1219

1220

1221

1222

Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1223

1224

1225

1226

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1234

1235

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1268

1269

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

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1313

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1316

Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

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1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1458

1459

1460

1461

1462

1463

1464

1465

1466

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1468

1469

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1471

1472

1473

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1475

1476

1477

1478

1479

1480

1481

1482

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1484

1485

1486

1487

1488

1489

1490

1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

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1506

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

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Dautzenberg34

Although there is no universal solution to all reaction engineering applications

MEC has solved the size versus pressure drop problem for mass-transfer-limited

reactions

Dry Zeolite Synthesis

A second catalyst advance is our ldquoDry Synthesisrdquo zeolite crystallization called

ldquoDrySynrdquo for shortmdashan entirely new way to make zeolites[5] Unlike conventional

methods where the nutrients are dissolved in a caustic solution DrySyn starts with

solid reagents often silica-alumina microspheres similar in size to FCC catalysts These

silica-alumina microspheres are porous and have their own gross morphology Using

the DrySyn method the pores are filled with water caustic and if needed an organic

directing agent below or at the incipient wetness point The particles appear dry hence

the term ldquodry synthesisrdquo DrySyn has several advantages compared to conventional syn-

thesis routes (a) faster crystallization time (b) smaller crystal size (c) ability to control

porosity based on the preformed particlesrsquo properties (d) improved nutrient utilization

and (e) lower environmental impact

Figure 5 is a schematic representation of DrySyn[6] The starting materialmdasha porous

particle usually silica-aluminamdashhas its own characteristic silica-to-alumina ratio and

porosity In the crystallization process the finished product is comprised of many ultra-

small zeolite crystals Figure 6 shows the finished product of three standard zeolites

ZSM-5 zeolite beta and inorganic mordenite[7]

Figure 4 MEC DeNOx activity versus honeycomb

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321

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326

327

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329

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 7

Fig

ure

5

No

vel

zeo

lite

syn

thes

isp

roce

du

re

ldquoDry

-Sy

nth

esis

rdquo

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330

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376

Dautzenberg8

Fig

ure

6

Co

nv

ersi

on

exam

ple

sfo

rldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquo

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 9

The finished product also retains the gross morphology of the parent microsphere

thereby imparting mesoporosity to the crystal agglomerates This mesopore effect is

easily seen in Fig 7 where the pore size distribution is compared to a commercial catalyst

While both catalysts have a similar share of smaller pores the DrySyn catalyst has

about 70 of its pores in the 30thorn nm range When one considers the impact of composite

resistances in a catalyst it is easy to see the potential benefits of such a pore structure

One example of DrySyn performance is shown in Fig 8 Two fast reactionsmdash

ethylbenzene (EB) and cumene productionmdashare shown for a commercial zeolite beta cat-

alyst and a comparable DrySyn catalyst Based on first-order rate constants the DrySyn

catalyst has a two-fold activity advantage for EB and a 50 activity advantage for

cumene synthesis Even though these molecules are relatively small the mesoporosity

gives a significant performance boost

The DrySyn zeolite procedure is particularly advantageous for inorganic zeolites like

zeolite Y In a high throughput screening study with Avantium many synthesis variables

(eg temperature time NaOH concentration etc) were examined that should favor the

formation of high quality small crystal zeolite Y Some of the results are shown in

Fig 9 Here each line represents one synthesis experiment and the bars describe the

three products unconverted material (Phase 1) the desired Y (Phase 3) and a second

phase (Phase 2) cancrinite By looking at the Y bars one can quickly zero in on the pre-

ferred synthesis conditions to maximize the production of zeolite Y Of course other

factors are also important such as percent crystallinity surface area hydrocarbon sorp-

tion and ultimate crystal size Figure 10 shows the progress made in driving down the

Figure 7 Pore size distribution of two catalysts

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461

462

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465

466

467

468

469

470

Dautzenberg10

crystal size While most conventional zeolite Y samples are typically 05 micron in size

the resultant DrySyn crystals are an order of magnitude smaller These unusually small

crystals have excellent activity for many hydrocarbon processes

Mesoporous Materials

An area of growing importance is mesoporous materials Since the discovery of

MCM-41[8 ndash 10] in the late 1980s there has been a myriad of articles and patents in this

field Lummus has also been quite active in this field In collaboration with the Technical

University of Delft (the Netherlands) an entirely new group of materials collectively

known as TUD-1[11 ndash 13] has been synthesized TUD-1 is comprised of random three-

dimensional interconnecting pores Unlike the M41S materials and many other mesopor-

ous materials TUD-1 is amorphous and thus has no planes of symmetry and no space

group

TUD-1rsquos amorphous character is shown in Fig 11 which is an electron micrograph of

TUD-1 alongside a ceramic foam of macroscopic scale To conclusively show that the

pores are interconnected a ldquoreverse imagingrdquo technique was developed Here the pores

of a siliceous TUD-1 were filled with sugar molecules that were then carburized The

silica was then dissolved to leave behind only the carbon pore replica The resultant struc-

ture did not collapse conclusively proving that the pores are interconnected

TUD-1 has another important property the pores have a controllable narrow size

distributionmdashtypically from 40 to 120 A with a surface area from 500 to 1000 m2g

Figure 12 shows the trade-off that can be achieved between pore diameter and surface

area Even at the largest pore size the surface area for this Si-TUD-1 is 500 m2gndash20

to 40 higher than typical silica supports

Figure 8 Aromatics alkylation comparison of catalyst performance

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510

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513

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517

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 11

Fig

ure

9

Su

mm

ary

of

HT

Ssy

nth

esis

exp

erim

ents

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519

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557

558

559

560

561

562

563

564

Dautzenberg12

These combined properties make TUD-1 an attractive viable catalyst or catalyst

support for many reactions While the major focus has been with alumina silica and

silica-alumina TUD-1 has been made in about 20 different chemical variants As seen

in Table 1 Delft scientists have shown that Ti-TUD-1 is five times more active than its

MCM-41 counterpart for epoxidation even though the surface areas are equivalent[1314]

Figure 10 Comparison of conventional and ldquoDrySynrdquo Y crystallites

Figure 11 Ceramic foam versus TUD-1 an analogy

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565

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609

610

611

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 13

THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE SIZE AND POROSITY ON

CATALYST ACTIVITY

Catalysts can be custom-tailored for improved performance specifically the well-

known Thiele moduluseffectiveness factor concepts can be applied to demonstrate

mass transfer effects in catalysis The unique features of DrySyn zeolites and TUD-1

are both amenable to this approach

The intrinsic activity [k(o)] can be calculated by measuring the apparent catalyst

activity [k(app)] of a catalyst using two different particle sizes [rp] It follows that

kethappTHORNeth1THORN

kethappTHORNeth2THORNfrac14

heth1THORN

heth2THORNfrac14

3=f1frac121= tanhf1 1=f1

3=f2frac121= tanhf2 1=f2eth1THORN

Figure 12 TUD-1 Trading off pore size and surface area

Table 1 Expoxidation of cyclohexene

Catalysts Surface area m2g Turnover frequency

Ti-MCM-41 921 36

Ti-TUD-1 917 202

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645

646

647

648

649

650

651

652

653

654

655

656

657

658

Dautzenberg14

in which

fi frac14 rpethiTHORN

ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffikethoTHORN

D

reth2THORN

and

hethiTHORN frac14kethappTHORNethiTHORN

kethoTHORNeth3THORN

Through an iterative approximation we establish a value for k(o)D so that Eq (1) is

satisfied For each experimental value of rp we now can calculate f and thus k(o) and

therefore D We subsequently determine k(app) for any value of rp While the effective-

ness factorThiele modulus is usually shown as a log-log plot recasting it on a linear

scale can be quite informative

Figure 13 shows a typical example where this approach has been applied to two differ-

ent zeolite beta catalysts Using ethylbenzene formation as a probe reactive the k(o) of the

DrySyn beta catalyst is 15 higher than the k(o) of the commercial beta catalyst Of indus-

trial importance is the fact that the k(app) for 15 mm DrySyn particles is more than 25

times higher than the k(app) of 15 mm commercial catalyst particles Since the crystal

size of both zeolite beta samples is small (less than 005 micron ultimate crystal size)

the performance difference is probably due to the large number of mesopores in the

DrySyn catalyst which is reflected in the higher value of the effective diffusivity

In addition to altering catalyst activity by different zeolite synthesis routes one can

vary the catalyst support properties for a dramatic impact on catalyst performance This

concept has been shown[1516] to achieve synergistic benefits by combining zeolitic

activity with a mesoporous matrix A specific example is cited here again using the EB

probe reaction Table 2 shows the performance of three alumina-bound commercial Y cata-

lysts and two developmental catalysts using TUD-1 (silica or alumina) as the binding

material (commercial zeolite Y used) The intrinsic activities of the three commercial cata-

lysts reported on a constant zeolite basis are very similar and the intrinsic activities of

the mesoporous Y catalysts are significantly lower However the commercially important

activity is for particles typically greater than 1 mm Figure 14 shows the catalyst activity of

the two types of Y catalysts versus particle size Interestingly although the mesoporous Y

catalyst (here with Si-TUD-1) has a lower intrinsic activity than the commercial Y cata-

lyst the mesoporous Y has triple the activity of the commercial Y catalyst at industrially

relevant particle sizes This activity ldquocross-over effectrdquo is attributable to a tenfold advan-

tage in diffusivity One can quickly see the potential activity advantage that can be

achieved by optimizing the mesoporosity The five catalysts of Table 2 are compared in

Fig 15 Here we see that despite lower intrinsic activities both mesoporous Y catalysts

have superior activity compared to the three commercial Y catalysts at particle size of

15 mm

From the above conclusions one can foresee that another route to raising the overall

catalyst performance is to boost the intrinsic activity of the zeolite itself This concept is

illustrated in Table 3 Again using the EB probe reaction Table 3 shows the performance

of two alumina-bound commercial zeolite beta catalysts and one developmental catalyst

embedded in Si-TUD-1 (commercial zeolite beta used) The second commercial zeolite

beta catalyst (ldquoType IIrdquo) was prepared by a proprietary technique that achieves a

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660

661

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703

704

705

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 15

Fig

ure

13

P

erfo

rman

ceo

fldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquob

eta

ver

sus

com

mer

cial

bet

a(R

ef

ZS

han

etal

M

icro

po

rou

san

dM

ater

ials

20

014

81

81

)

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706

707

708

709

710

711

712

713

714

715

716

717

718

719

720

721

722

723

724

725

726

727

728

729

730

731

732

733

734

735

736

737

738

739

740

741

742

743

744

745

746

747

748

749

750

751

752

Dautzenberg16

Ta

ble

2

Yca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

61

50

1C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

I(7

0

)

36

97

8

10

26

15

30

47

03

00

25

68

10

01

00

2C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

II(8

0

)

33

11

11

10

26

15

60

50

03

10

26

79

09

01

05

3C

om

mer

ical

Y4

63

19

5

10

26

23

80

77

04

90

41

89

12

51

65

4M

eso

po

rou

sY

Si-

TU

D-1

(45

8

)

24

71

31

0

10

26

23

11

48

10

50

91

36

80

67

36

3

5M

eso

po

rou

sY

11

59

93

10

26

11

00

73

05

30

47

40

40

31

18

6

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

753

754

755

756

757

758

759

760

761

762

763

764

765

766

767

768

769

770

771

772

773

774

775

776

777

778

779

780

781

782

783

784

785

786

787

788

789

790

791

792

793

794

795

796

797

798

799

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 17

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

800

801

802

803

804

805

806

807

808

809

810

811

812

813

814

815

816

817

818

819

820

821

822

823

824

825

826

827

828

829

830

831

832

833

834

835

836

837

838

839

840

841

842

843

844

845

846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

847

848

849

850

851

852

853

854

855

856

857

858

859

860

861

862

863

864

865

866

867

868

869

870

871

872

873

874

875

876

877

878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

896

897

898

899

900

901

902

903

904

905

906

907

908

909

910

911

912

913

914

915

916

917

918

919

920

921

922

923

924

925

926

927

928

929

930

931

932

933

934

935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

941

942

943

944

945

946

947

948

949

950

951

952

953

954

955

956

957

958

959

960

961

962

963

964

965

966

967

968

969

970

971

972

973

974

975

976

977

978

979

980

981

982

983

984

985

986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

988

989

990

991

992

993

994

995

996

997

998

999

1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

1006

1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

1012

1013

1014

1015

1016

1017

1018

1019

1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1035

1036

1037

1038

1039

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1075

1076

1077

1078

1079

1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1082

1083

1084

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1100

1101

1102

1103

1104

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1108

1109

1110

1111

1112

1113

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1116

1117

1118

1119

1120

1121

1122

1123

1124

1125

1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1129

1130

1131

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1162

1163

1164

1165

1166

1167

1168

1169

1170

1171

1172

1173

1174

1175

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1176

1177

1178

1179

1180

1181

1182

1183

1184

1185

1186

1187

1188

1189

1190

1191

1192

1193

1194

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1196

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1198

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1200

1201

1202

1203

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1210

1211

1212

1213

1214

1215

1216

1217

1218

1219

1220

1221

1222

Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1223

1224

1225

1226

1227

1228

1229

1230

1231

1232

1233

1234

1235

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1257

1258

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1261

1262

1263

1264

1265

1266

1267

1268

1269

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1270

1271

1272

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1286

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1289

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1295

1296

1297

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1300

1301

1302

1303

1304

1305

1306

1307

1308

1309

1310

1311

1312

1313

1314

1315

1316

Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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1317

1318

1319

1320

1321

1322

1323

1324

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1331

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1333

1334

1335

1336

1337

1338

1339

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1344

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1348

1349

1350

1351

1352

1353

1354

1355

1356

1357

1358

1359

1360

1361

1362

1363

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1364

1365

1366

1367

1368

1369

1370

1371

1372

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1398

1399

1400

1401

1402

1403

1404

1405

1406

1407

1408

1409

1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1411

1412

1413

1414

1415

1416

1417

1418

1419

1420

1421

1422

1423

1424

1425

1426

1427

1428

1429

1430

1431

1432

1433

1434

1435

1436

1437

1438

1439

1440

1441

1442

1443

1444

1445

1446

1447

1448

1449

1450

1451

1452

1453

1454

1455

1456

1457

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1458

1459

1460

1461

1462

1463

1464

1465

1466

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1471

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1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1506

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1550

1551

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1552

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1598

Dautzenberg34

Fig

ure

5

No

vel

zeo

lite

syn

thes

isp

roce

du

re

ldquoDry

-Sy

nth

esis

rdquo

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

330

331

332

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371

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373

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375

376

Dautzenberg8

Fig

ure

6

Co

nv

ersi

on

exam

ple

sfo

rldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquo

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

377

378

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423

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 9

The finished product also retains the gross morphology of the parent microsphere

thereby imparting mesoporosity to the crystal agglomerates This mesopore effect is

easily seen in Fig 7 where the pore size distribution is compared to a commercial catalyst

While both catalysts have a similar share of smaller pores the DrySyn catalyst has

about 70 of its pores in the 30thorn nm range When one considers the impact of composite

resistances in a catalyst it is easy to see the potential benefits of such a pore structure

One example of DrySyn performance is shown in Fig 8 Two fast reactionsmdash

ethylbenzene (EB) and cumene productionmdashare shown for a commercial zeolite beta cat-

alyst and a comparable DrySyn catalyst Based on first-order rate constants the DrySyn

catalyst has a two-fold activity advantage for EB and a 50 activity advantage for

cumene synthesis Even though these molecules are relatively small the mesoporosity

gives a significant performance boost

The DrySyn zeolite procedure is particularly advantageous for inorganic zeolites like

zeolite Y In a high throughput screening study with Avantium many synthesis variables

(eg temperature time NaOH concentration etc) were examined that should favor the

formation of high quality small crystal zeolite Y Some of the results are shown in

Fig 9 Here each line represents one synthesis experiment and the bars describe the

three products unconverted material (Phase 1) the desired Y (Phase 3) and a second

phase (Phase 2) cancrinite By looking at the Y bars one can quickly zero in on the pre-

ferred synthesis conditions to maximize the production of zeolite Y Of course other

factors are also important such as percent crystallinity surface area hydrocarbon sorp-

tion and ultimate crystal size Figure 10 shows the progress made in driving down the

Figure 7 Pore size distribution of two catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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466

467

468

469

470

Dautzenberg10

crystal size While most conventional zeolite Y samples are typically 05 micron in size

the resultant DrySyn crystals are an order of magnitude smaller These unusually small

crystals have excellent activity for many hydrocarbon processes

Mesoporous Materials

An area of growing importance is mesoporous materials Since the discovery of

MCM-41[8 ndash 10] in the late 1980s there has been a myriad of articles and patents in this

field Lummus has also been quite active in this field In collaboration with the Technical

University of Delft (the Netherlands) an entirely new group of materials collectively

known as TUD-1[11 ndash 13] has been synthesized TUD-1 is comprised of random three-

dimensional interconnecting pores Unlike the M41S materials and many other mesopor-

ous materials TUD-1 is amorphous and thus has no planes of symmetry and no space

group

TUD-1rsquos amorphous character is shown in Fig 11 which is an electron micrograph of

TUD-1 alongside a ceramic foam of macroscopic scale To conclusively show that the

pores are interconnected a ldquoreverse imagingrdquo technique was developed Here the pores

of a siliceous TUD-1 were filled with sugar molecules that were then carburized The

silica was then dissolved to leave behind only the carbon pore replica The resultant struc-

ture did not collapse conclusively proving that the pores are interconnected

TUD-1 has another important property the pores have a controllable narrow size

distributionmdashtypically from 40 to 120 A with a surface area from 500 to 1000 m2g

Figure 12 shows the trade-off that can be achieved between pore diameter and surface

area Even at the largest pore size the surface area for this Si-TUD-1 is 500 m2gndash20

to 40 higher than typical silica supports

Figure 8 Aromatics alkylation comparison of catalyst performance

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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517

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 11

Fig

ure

9

Su

mm

ary

of

HT

Ssy

nth

esis

exp

erim

ents

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519

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564

Dautzenberg12

These combined properties make TUD-1 an attractive viable catalyst or catalyst

support for many reactions While the major focus has been with alumina silica and

silica-alumina TUD-1 has been made in about 20 different chemical variants As seen

in Table 1 Delft scientists have shown that Ti-TUD-1 is five times more active than its

MCM-41 counterpart for epoxidation even though the surface areas are equivalent[1314]

Figure 10 Comparison of conventional and ldquoDrySynrdquo Y crystallites

Figure 11 Ceramic foam versus TUD-1 an analogy

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565

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609

610

611

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 13

THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE SIZE AND POROSITY ON

CATALYST ACTIVITY

Catalysts can be custom-tailored for improved performance specifically the well-

known Thiele moduluseffectiveness factor concepts can be applied to demonstrate

mass transfer effects in catalysis The unique features of DrySyn zeolites and TUD-1

are both amenable to this approach

The intrinsic activity [k(o)] can be calculated by measuring the apparent catalyst

activity [k(app)] of a catalyst using two different particle sizes [rp] It follows that

kethappTHORNeth1THORN

kethappTHORNeth2THORNfrac14

heth1THORN

heth2THORNfrac14

3=f1frac121= tanhf1 1=f1

3=f2frac121= tanhf2 1=f2eth1THORN

Figure 12 TUD-1 Trading off pore size and surface area

Table 1 Expoxidation of cyclohexene

Catalysts Surface area m2g Turnover frequency

Ti-MCM-41 921 36

Ti-TUD-1 917 202

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612

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653

654

655

656

657

658

Dautzenberg14

in which

fi frac14 rpethiTHORN

ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffikethoTHORN

D

reth2THORN

and

hethiTHORN frac14kethappTHORNethiTHORN

kethoTHORNeth3THORN

Through an iterative approximation we establish a value for k(o)D so that Eq (1) is

satisfied For each experimental value of rp we now can calculate f and thus k(o) and

therefore D We subsequently determine k(app) for any value of rp While the effective-

ness factorThiele modulus is usually shown as a log-log plot recasting it on a linear

scale can be quite informative

Figure 13 shows a typical example where this approach has been applied to two differ-

ent zeolite beta catalysts Using ethylbenzene formation as a probe reactive the k(o) of the

DrySyn beta catalyst is 15 higher than the k(o) of the commercial beta catalyst Of indus-

trial importance is the fact that the k(app) for 15 mm DrySyn particles is more than 25

times higher than the k(app) of 15 mm commercial catalyst particles Since the crystal

size of both zeolite beta samples is small (less than 005 micron ultimate crystal size)

the performance difference is probably due to the large number of mesopores in the

DrySyn catalyst which is reflected in the higher value of the effective diffusivity

In addition to altering catalyst activity by different zeolite synthesis routes one can

vary the catalyst support properties for a dramatic impact on catalyst performance This

concept has been shown[1516] to achieve synergistic benefits by combining zeolitic

activity with a mesoporous matrix A specific example is cited here again using the EB

probe reaction Table 2 shows the performance of three alumina-bound commercial Y cata-

lysts and two developmental catalysts using TUD-1 (silica or alumina) as the binding

material (commercial zeolite Y used) The intrinsic activities of the three commercial cata-

lysts reported on a constant zeolite basis are very similar and the intrinsic activities of

the mesoporous Y catalysts are significantly lower However the commercially important

activity is for particles typically greater than 1 mm Figure 14 shows the catalyst activity of

the two types of Y catalysts versus particle size Interestingly although the mesoporous Y

catalyst (here with Si-TUD-1) has a lower intrinsic activity than the commercial Y cata-

lyst the mesoporous Y has triple the activity of the commercial Y catalyst at industrially

relevant particle sizes This activity ldquocross-over effectrdquo is attributable to a tenfold advan-

tage in diffusivity One can quickly see the potential activity advantage that can be

achieved by optimizing the mesoporosity The five catalysts of Table 2 are compared in

Fig 15 Here we see that despite lower intrinsic activities both mesoporous Y catalysts

have superior activity compared to the three commercial Y catalysts at particle size of

15 mm

From the above conclusions one can foresee that another route to raising the overall

catalyst performance is to boost the intrinsic activity of the zeolite itself This concept is

illustrated in Table 3 Again using the EB probe reaction Table 3 shows the performance

of two alumina-bound commercial zeolite beta catalysts and one developmental catalyst

embedded in Si-TUD-1 (commercial zeolite beta used) The second commercial zeolite

beta catalyst (ldquoType IIrdquo) was prepared by a proprietary technique that achieves a

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

659

660

661

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664

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699

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701

702

703

704

705

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 15

Fig

ure

13

P

erfo

rman

ceo

fldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquob

eta

ver

sus

com

mer

cial

bet

a(R

ef

ZS

han

etal

M

icro

po

rou

san

dM

ater

ials

20

014

81

81

)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

706

707

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748

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750

751

752

Dautzenberg16

Ta

ble

2

Yca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

61

50

1C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

I(7

0

)

36

97

8

10

26

15

30

47

03

00

25

68

10

01

00

2C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

II(8

0

)

33

11

11

10

26

15

60

50

03

10

26

79

09

01

05

3C

om

mer

ical

Y4

63

19

5

10

26

23

80

77

04

90

41

89

12

51

65

4M

eso

po

rou

sY

Si-

TU

D-1

(45

8

)

24

71

31

0

10

26

23

11

48

10

50

91

36

80

67

36

3

5M

eso

po

rou

sY

11

59

93

10

26

11

00

73

05

30

47

40

40

31

18

6

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

753

754

755

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757

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781

782

783

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785

786

787

788

789

790

791

792

793

794

795

796

797

798

799

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 17

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

800

801

802

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804

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812

813

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825

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829

830

831

832

833

834

835

836

837

838

839

840

841

842

843

844

845

846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

847

848

849

850

851

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854

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865

866

867

868

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870

871

872

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874

875

876

877

878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

896

897

898

899

900

901

902

903

904

905

906

907

908

909

910

911

912

913

914

915

916

917

918

919

920

921

922

923

924

925

926

927

928

929

930

931

932

933

934

935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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978

979

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981

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987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

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1031

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1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

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1080

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

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1123

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1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

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Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

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1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1461

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1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1506

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg34

Fig

ure

6

Co

nv

ersi

on

exam

ple

sfo

rldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquo

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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378

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420

421

422

423

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 9

The finished product also retains the gross morphology of the parent microsphere

thereby imparting mesoporosity to the crystal agglomerates This mesopore effect is

easily seen in Fig 7 where the pore size distribution is compared to a commercial catalyst

While both catalysts have a similar share of smaller pores the DrySyn catalyst has

about 70 of its pores in the 30thorn nm range When one considers the impact of composite

resistances in a catalyst it is easy to see the potential benefits of such a pore structure

One example of DrySyn performance is shown in Fig 8 Two fast reactionsmdash

ethylbenzene (EB) and cumene productionmdashare shown for a commercial zeolite beta cat-

alyst and a comparable DrySyn catalyst Based on first-order rate constants the DrySyn

catalyst has a two-fold activity advantage for EB and a 50 activity advantage for

cumene synthesis Even though these molecules are relatively small the mesoporosity

gives a significant performance boost

The DrySyn zeolite procedure is particularly advantageous for inorganic zeolites like

zeolite Y In a high throughput screening study with Avantium many synthesis variables

(eg temperature time NaOH concentration etc) were examined that should favor the

formation of high quality small crystal zeolite Y Some of the results are shown in

Fig 9 Here each line represents one synthesis experiment and the bars describe the

three products unconverted material (Phase 1) the desired Y (Phase 3) and a second

phase (Phase 2) cancrinite By looking at the Y bars one can quickly zero in on the pre-

ferred synthesis conditions to maximize the production of zeolite Y Of course other

factors are also important such as percent crystallinity surface area hydrocarbon sorp-

tion and ultimate crystal size Figure 10 shows the progress made in driving down the

Figure 7 Pore size distribution of two catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

424

425

426

427

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429

430

431

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443

444

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448

449

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451

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453

454

455

456

457

458

459

460

461

462

463

464

465

466

467

468

469

470

Dautzenberg10

crystal size While most conventional zeolite Y samples are typically 05 micron in size

the resultant DrySyn crystals are an order of magnitude smaller These unusually small

crystals have excellent activity for many hydrocarbon processes

Mesoporous Materials

An area of growing importance is mesoporous materials Since the discovery of

MCM-41[8 ndash 10] in the late 1980s there has been a myriad of articles and patents in this

field Lummus has also been quite active in this field In collaboration with the Technical

University of Delft (the Netherlands) an entirely new group of materials collectively

known as TUD-1[11 ndash 13] has been synthesized TUD-1 is comprised of random three-

dimensional interconnecting pores Unlike the M41S materials and many other mesopor-

ous materials TUD-1 is amorphous and thus has no planes of symmetry and no space

group

TUD-1rsquos amorphous character is shown in Fig 11 which is an electron micrograph of

TUD-1 alongside a ceramic foam of macroscopic scale To conclusively show that the

pores are interconnected a ldquoreverse imagingrdquo technique was developed Here the pores

of a siliceous TUD-1 were filled with sugar molecules that were then carburized The

silica was then dissolved to leave behind only the carbon pore replica The resultant struc-

ture did not collapse conclusively proving that the pores are interconnected

TUD-1 has another important property the pores have a controllable narrow size

distributionmdashtypically from 40 to 120 A with a surface area from 500 to 1000 m2g

Figure 12 shows the trade-off that can be achieved between pore diameter and surface

area Even at the largest pore size the surface area for this Si-TUD-1 is 500 m2gndash20

to 40 higher than typical silica supports

Figure 8 Aromatics alkylation comparison of catalyst performance

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

471

472

473

474

475

476

477

478

479

480

481

482

483

484

485

486

487

488

489

490

491

492

493

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496

497

498

499

500

501

502

503

504

505

506

507

508

509

510

511

512

513

514

515

516

517

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 11

Fig

ure

9

Su

mm

ary

of

HT

Ssy

nth

esis

exp

erim

ents

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

518

519

520

521

522

523

524

525

526

527

528

529

530

531

532

533

534

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536

537

538

539

540

541

542

543

544

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546

547

548

549

550

551

552

553

554

555

556

557

558

559

560

561

562

563

564

Dautzenberg12

These combined properties make TUD-1 an attractive viable catalyst or catalyst

support for many reactions While the major focus has been with alumina silica and

silica-alumina TUD-1 has been made in about 20 different chemical variants As seen

in Table 1 Delft scientists have shown that Ti-TUD-1 is five times more active than its

MCM-41 counterpart for epoxidation even though the surface areas are equivalent[1314]

Figure 10 Comparison of conventional and ldquoDrySynrdquo Y crystallites

Figure 11 Ceramic foam versus TUD-1 an analogy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

565

566

567

568

569

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574

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576

577

578

579

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588

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590

591

592

593

594

595

596

597

598

599

600

601

602

603

604

605

606

607

608

609

610

611

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 13

THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE SIZE AND POROSITY ON

CATALYST ACTIVITY

Catalysts can be custom-tailored for improved performance specifically the well-

known Thiele moduluseffectiveness factor concepts can be applied to demonstrate

mass transfer effects in catalysis The unique features of DrySyn zeolites and TUD-1

are both amenable to this approach

The intrinsic activity [k(o)] can be calculated by measuring the apparent catalyst

activity [k(app)] of a catalyst using two different particle sizes [rp] It follows that

kethappTHORNeth1THORN

kethappTHORNeth2THORNfrac14

heth1THORN

heth2THORNfrac14

3=f1frac121= tanhf1 1=f1

3=f2frac121= tanhf2 1=f2eth1THORN

Figure 12 TUD-1 Trading off pore size and surface area

Table 1 Expoxidation of cyclohexene

Catalysts Surface area m2g Turnover frequency

Ti-MCM-41 921 36

Ti-TUD-1 917 202

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

612

613

614

615

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619

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621

622

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626

627

628

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630

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632

633

634

635

636

637

638

639

640

641

642

643

644

645

646

647

648

649

650

651

652

653

654

655

656

657

658

Dautzenberg14

in which

fi frac14 rpethiTHORN

ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffikethoTHORN

D

reth2THORN

and

hethiTHORN frac14kethappTHORNethiTHORN

kethoTHORNeth3THORN

Through an iterative approximation we establish a value for k(o)D so that Eq (1) is

satisfied For each experimental value of rp we now can calculate f and thus k(o) and

therefore D We subsequently determine k(app) for any value of rp While the effective-

ness factorThiele modulus is usually shown as a log-log plot recasting it on a linear

scale can be quite informative

Figure 13 shows a typical example where this approach has been applied to two differ-

ent zeolite beta catalysts Using ethylbenzene formation as a probe reactive the k(o) of the

DrySyn beta catalyst is 15 higher than the k(o) of the commercial beta catalyst Of indus-

trial importance is the fact that the k(app) for 15 mm DrySyn particles is more than 25

times higher than the k(app) of 15 mm commercial catalyst particles Since the crystal

size of both zeolite beta samples is small (less than 005 micron ultimate crystal size)

the performance difference is probably due to the large number of mesopores in the

DrySyn catalyst which is reflected in the higher value of the effective diffusivity

In addition to altering catalyst activity by different zeolite synthesis routes one can

vary the catalyst support properties for a dramatic impact on catalyst performance This

concept has been shown[1516] to achieve synergistic benefits by combining zeolitic

activity with a mesoporous matrix A specific example is cited here again using the EB

probe reaction Table 2 shows the performance of three alumina-bound commercial Y cata-

lysts and two developmental catalysts using TUD-1 (silica or alumina) as the binding

material (commercial zeolite Y used) The intrinsic activities of the three commercial cata-

lysts reported on a constant zeolite basis are very similar and the intrinsic activities of

the mesoporous Y catalysts are significantly lower However the commercially important

activity is for particles typically greater than 1 mm Figure 14 shows the catalyst activity of

the two types of Y catalysts versus particle size Interestingly although the mesoporous Y

catalyst (here with Si-TUD-1) has a lower intrinsic activity than the commercial Y cata-

lyst the mesoporous Y has triple the activity of the commercial Y catalyst at industrially

relevant particle sizes This activity ldquocross-over effectrdquo is attributable to a tenfold advan-

tage in diffusivity One can quickly see the potential activity advantage that can be

achieved by optimizing the mesoporosity The five catalysts of Table 2 are compared in

Fig 15 Here we see that despite lower intrinsic activities both mesoporous Y catalysts

have superior activity compared to the three commercial Y catalysts at particle size of

15 mm

From the above conclusions one can foresee that another route to raising the overall

catalyst performance is to boost the intrinsic activity of the zeolite itself This concept is

illustrated in Table 3 Again using the EB probe reaction Table 3 shows the performance

of two alumina-bound commercial zeolite beta catalysts and one developmental catalyst

embedded in Si-TUD-1 (commercial zeolite beta used) The second commercial zeolite

beta catalyst (ldquoType IIrdquo) was prepared by a proprietary technique that achieves a

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

659

660

661

662

663

664

665

666

667

668

669

670

671

672

673

674

675

676

677

678

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680

681

682

683

684

685

686

687

688

689

690

691

692

693

694

695

696

697

698

699

700

701

702

703

704

705

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 15

Fig

ure

13

P

erfo

rman

ceo

fldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquob

eta

ver

sus

com

mer

cial

bet

a(R

ef

ZS

han

etal

M

icro

po

rou

san

dM

ater

ials

20

014

81

81

)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

706

707

708

709

710

711

712

713

714

715

716

717

718

719

720

721

722

723

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725

726

727

728

729

730

731

732

733

734

735

736

737

738

739

740

741

742

743

744

745

746

747

748

749

750

751

752

Dautzenberg16

Ta

ble

2

Yca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

61

50

1C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

I(7

0

)

36

97

8

10

26

15

30

47

03

00

25

68

10

01

00

2C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

II(8

0

)

33

11

11

10

26

15

60

50

03

10

26

79

09

01

05

3C

om

mer

ical

Y4

63

19

5

10

26

23

80

77

04

90

41

89

12

51

65

4M

eso

po

rou

sY

Si-

TU

D-1

(45

8

)

24

71

31

0

10

26

23

11

48

10

50

91

36

80

67

36

3

5M

eso

po

rou

sY

11

59

93

10

26

11

00

73

05

30

47

40

40

31

18

6

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

753

754

755

756

757

758

759

760

761

762

763

764

765

766

767

768

769

770

771

772

773

774

775

776

777

778

779

780

781

782

783

784

785

786

787

788

789

790

791

792

793

794

795

796

797

798

799

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 17

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

800

801

802

803

804

805

806

807

808

809

810

811

812

813

814

815

816

817

818

819

820

821

822

823

824

825

826

827

828

829

830

831

832

833

834

835

836

837

838

839

840

841

842

843

844

845

846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

847

848

849

850

851

852

853

854

855

856

857

858

859

860

861

862

863

864

865

866

867

868

869

870

871

872

873

874

875

876

877

878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

896

897

898

899

900

901

902

903

904

905

906

907

908

909

910

911

912

913

914

915

916

917

918

919

920

921

922

923

924

925

926

927

928

929

930

931

932

933

934

935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

941

942

943

944

945

946

947

948

949

950

951

952

953

954

955

956

957

958

959

960

961

962

963

964

965

966

967

968

969

970

971

972

973

974

975

976

977

978

979

980

981

982

983

984

985

986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

988

989

990

991

992

993

994

995

996

997

998

999

1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

1006

1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

1012

1013

1014

1015

1016

1017

1018

1019

1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1035

1036

1037

1038

1039

1040

1041

1042

1043

1044

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1046

1047

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1050

1051

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1053

1054

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1057

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1060

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1062

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1066

1067

1068

1069

1070

1071

1072

1073

1074

1075

1076

1077

1078

1079

1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1082

1083

1084

1085

1086

1087

1088

1089

1090

1091

1092

1093

1094

1095

1096

1097

1098

1099

1100

1101

1102

1103

1104

1105

1106

1107

1108

1109

1110

1111

1112

1113

1114

1115

1116

1117

1118

1119

1120

1121

1122

1123

1124

1125

1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1129

1130

1131

1132

1133

1134

1135

1136

1137

1138

1139

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1144

1145

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1148

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1155

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1157

1158

1159

1160

1161

1162

1163

1164

1165

1166

1167

1168

1169

1170

1171

1172

1173

1174

1175

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1176

1177

1178

1179

1180

1181

1182

1183

1184

1185

1186

1187

1188

1189

1190

1191

1192

1193

1194

1195

1196

1197

1198

1199

1200

1201

1202

1203

1204

1205

1206

1207

1208

1209

1210

1211

1212

1213

1214

1215

1216

1217

1218

1219

1220

1221

1222

Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1223

1224

1225

1226

1227

1228

1229

1230

1231

1232

1233

1234

1235

1236

1237

1238

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1258

1259

1260

1261

1262

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1264

1265

1266

1267

1268

1269

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

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Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

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Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1458

1459

1460

1461

1462

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1471

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1475

1476

1477

1478

1479

1480

1481

1482

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1484

1485

1486

1487

1488

1489

1490

1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

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1505

1506

1507

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1509

1510

1511

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1550

1551

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg34

The finished product also retains the gross morphology of the parent microsphere

thereby imparting mesoporosity to the crystal agglomerates This mesopore effect is

easily seen in Fig 7 where the pore size distribution is compared to a commercial catalyst

While both catalysts have a similar share of smaller pores the DrySyn catalyst has

about 70 of its pores in the 30thorn nm range When one considers the impact of composite

resistances in a catalyst it is easy to see the potential benefits of such a pore structure

One example of DrySyn performance is shown in Fig 8 Two fast reactionsmdash

ethylbenzene (EB) and cumene productionmdashare shown for a commercial zeolite beta cat-

alyst and a comparable DrySyn catalyst Based on first-order rate constants the DrySyn

catalyst has a two-fold activity advantage for EB and a 50 activity advantage for

cumene synthesis Even though these molecules are relatively small the mesoporosity

gives a significant performance boost

The DrySyn zeolite procedure is particularly advantageous for inorganic zeolites like

zeolite Y In a high throughput screening study with Avantium many synthesis variables

(eg temperature time NaOH concentration etc) were examined that should favor the

formation of high quality small crystal zeolite Y Some of the results are shown in

Fig 9 Here each line represents one synthesis experiment and the bars describe the

three products unconverted material (Phase 1) the desired Y (Phase 3) and a second

phase (Phase 2) cancrinite By looking at the Y bars one can quickly zero in on the pre-

ferred synthesis conditions to maximize the production of zeolite Y Of course other

factors are also important such as percent crystallinity surface area hydrocarbon sorp-

tion and ultimate crystal size Figure 10 shows the progress made in driving down the

Figure 7 Pore size distribution of two catalysts

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461

462

463

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466

467

468

469

470

Dautzenberg10

crystal size While most conventional zeolite Y samples are typically 05 micron in size

the resultant DrySyn crystals are an order of magnitude smaller These unusually small

crystals have excellent activity for many hydrocarbon processes

Mesoporous Materials

An area of growing importance is mesoporous materials Since the discovery of

MCM-41[8 ndash 10] in the late 1980s there has been a myriad of articles and patents in this

field Lummus has also been quite active in this field In collaboration with the Technical

University of Delft (the Netherlands) an entirely new group of materials collectively

known as TUD-1[11 ndash 13] has been synthesized TUD-1 is comprised of random three-

dimensional interconnecting pores Unlike the M41S materials and many other mesopor-

ous materials TUD-1 is amorphous and thus has no planes of symmetry and no space

group

TUD-1rsquos amorphous character is shown in Fig 11 which is an electron micrograph of

TUD-1 alongside a ceramic foam of macroscopic scale To conclusively show that the

pores are interconnected a ldquoreverse imagingrdquo technique was developed Here the pores

of a siliceous TUD-1 were filled with sugar molecules that were then carburized The

silica was then dissolved to leave behind only the carbon pore replica The resultant struc-

ture did not collapse conclusively proving that the pores are interconnected

TUD-1 has another important property the pores have a controllable narrow size

distributionmdashtypically from 40 to 120 A with a surface area from 500 to 1000 m2g

Figure 12 shows the trade-off that can be achieved between pore diameter and surface

area Even at the largest pore size the surface area for this Si-TUD-1 is 500 m2gndash20

to 40 higher than typical silica supports

Figure 8 Aromatics alkylation comparison of catalyst performance

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517

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 11

Fig

ure

9

Su

mm

ary

of

HT

Ssy

nth

esis

exp

erim

ents

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561

562

563

564

Dautzenberg12

These combined properties make TUD-1 an attractive viable catalyst or catalyst

support for many reactions While the major focus has been with alumina silica and

silica-alumina TUD-1 has been made in about 20 different chemical variants As seen

in Table 1 Delft scientists have shown that Ti-TUD-1 is five times more active than its

MCM-41 counterpart for epoxidation even though the surface areas are equivalent[1314]

Figure 10 Comparison of conventional and ldquoDrySynrdquo Y crystallites

Figure 11 Ceramic foam versus TUD-1 an analogy

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610

611

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 13

THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE SIZE AND POROSITY ON

CATALYST ACTIVITY

Catalysts can be custom-tailored for improved performance specifically the well-

known Thiele moduluseffectiveness factor concepts can be applied to demonstrate

mass transfer effects in catalysis The unique features of DrySyn zeolites and TUD-1

are both amenable to this approach

The intrinsic activity [k(o)] can be calculated by measuring the apparent catalyst

activity [k(app)] of a catalyst using two different particle sizes [rp] It follows that

kethappTHORNeth1THORN

kethappTHORNeth2THORNfrac14

heth1THORN

heth2THORNfrac14

3=f1frac121= tanhf1 1=f1

3=f2frac121= tanhf2 1=f2eth1THORN

Figure 12 TUD-1 Trading off pore size and surface area

Table 1 Expoxidation of cyclohexene

Catalysts Surface area m2g Turnover frequency

Ti-MCM-41 921 36

Ti-TUD-1 917 202

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646

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649

650

651

652

653

654

655

656

657

658

Dautzenberg14

in which

fi frac14 rpethiTHORN

ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffikethoTHORN

D

reth2THORN

and

hethiTHORN frac14kethappTHORNethiTHORN

kethoTHORNeth3THORN

Through an iterative approximation we establish a value for k(o)D so that Eq (1) is

satisfied For each experimental value of rp we now can calculate f and thus k(o) and

therefore D We subsequently determine k(app) for any value of rp While the effective-

ness factorThiele modulus is usually shown as a log-log plot recasting it on a linear

scale can be quite informative

Figure 13 shows a typical example where this approach has been applied to two differ-

ent zeolite beta catalysts Using ethylbenzene formation as a probe reactive the k(o) of the

DrySyn beta catalyst is 15 higher than the k(o) of the commercial beta catalyst Of indus-

trial importance is the fact that the k(app) for 15 mm DrySyn particles is more than 25

times higher than the k(app) of 15 mm commercial catalyst particles Since the crystal

size of both zeolite beta samples is small (less than 005 micron ultimate crystal size)

the performance difference is probably due to the large number of mesopores in the

DrySyn catalyst which is reflected in the higher value of the effective diffusivity

In addition to altering catalyst activity by different zeolite synthesis routes one can

vary the catalyst support properties for a dramatic impact on catalyst performance This

concept has been shown[1516] to achieve synergistic benefits by combining zeolitic

activity with a mesoporous matrix A specific example is cited here again using the EB

probe reaction Table 2 shows the performance of three alumina-bound commercial Y cata-

lysts and two developmental catalysts using TUD-1 (silica or alumina) as the binding

material (commercial zeolite Y used) The intrinsic activities of the three commercial cata-

lysts reported on a constant zeolite basis are very similar and the intrinsic activities of

the mesoporous Y catalysts are significantly lower However the commercially important

activity is for particles typically greater than 1 mm Figure 14 shows the catalyst activity of

the two types of Y catalysts versus particle size Interestingly although the mesoporous Y

catalyst (here with Si-TUD-1) has a lower intrinsic activity than the commercial Y cata-

lyst the mesoporous Y has triple the activity of the commercial Y catalyst at industrially

relevant particle sizes This activity ldquocross-over effectrdquo is attributable to a tenfold advan-

tage in diffusivity One can quickly see the potential activity advantage that can be

achieved by optimizing the mesoporosity The five catalysts of Table 2 are compared in

Fig 15 Here we see that despite lower intrinsic activities both mesoporous Y catalysts

have superior activity compared to the three commercial Y catalysts at particle size of

15 mm

From the above conclusions one can foresee that another route to raising the overall

catalyst performance is to boost the intrinsic activity of the zeolite itself This concept is

illustrated in Table 3 Again using the EB probe reaction Table 3 shows the performance

of two alumina-bound commercial zeolite beta catalysts and one developmental catalyst

embedded in Si-TUD-1 (commercial zeolite beta used) The second commercial zeolite

beta catalyst (ldquoType IIrdquo) was prepared by a proprietary technique that achieves a

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660

661

662

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688

689

690

691

692

693

694

695

696

697

698

699

700

701

702

703

704

705

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 15

Fig

ure

13

P

erfo

rman

ceo

fldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquob

eta

ver

sus

com

mer

cial

bet

a(R

ef

ZS

han

etal

M

icro

po

rou

san

dM

ater

ials

20

014

81

81

)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

706

707

708

709

710

711

712

713

714

715

716

717

718

719

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728

729

730

731

732

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734

735

736

737

738

739

740

741

742

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744

745

746

747

748

749

750

751

752

Dautzenberg16

Ta

ble

2

Yca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

61

50

1C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

I(7

0

)

36

97

8

10

26

15

30

47

03

00

25

68

10

01

00

2C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

II(8

0

)

33

11

11

10

26

15

60

50

03

10

26

79

09

01

05

3C

om

mer

ical

Y4

63

19

5

10

26

23

80

77

04

90

41

89

12

51

65

4M

eso

po

rou

sY

Si-

TU

D-1

(45

8

)

24

71

31

0

10

26

23

11

48

10

50

91

36

80

67

36

3

5M

eso

po

rou

sY

11

59

93

10

26

11

00

73

05

30

47

40

40

31

18

6

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

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753

754

755

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788

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790

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792

793

794

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796

797

798

799

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 17

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

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800

801

802

803

804

805

806

807

808

809

810

811

812

813

814

815

816

817

818

819

820

821

822

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825

826

827

828

829

830

831

832

833

834

835

836

837

838

839

840

841

842

843

844

845

846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

847

848

849

850

851

852

853

854

855

856

857

858

859

860

861

862

863

864

865

866

867

868

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870

871

872

873

874

875

876

877

878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

896

897

898

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901

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914

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917

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922

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925

926

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928

929

930

931

932

933

934

935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

941

942

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975

976

977

978

979

980

981

982

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984

985

986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

988

989

990

991

992

993

994

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998

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1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

1006

1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

1012

1013

1014

1015

1016

1017

1018

1019

1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1035

1036

1037

1038

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1077

1078

1079

1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

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1082

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1103

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1111

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1121

1122

1123

1124

1125

1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

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1171

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1173

1174

1175

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1176

1177

1178

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1191

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1201

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1221

1222

Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

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1223

1224

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1234

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1270

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Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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1317

1318

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1360

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1362

1363

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1364

1365

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1371

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1400

1401

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1405

1406

1407

1408

1409

1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1411

1412

1413

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1450

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1454

1455

1456

1457

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1458

1459

1460

1461

1462

1463

1464

1465

1466

1467

1468

1469

1470

1471

1472

1473

1474

1475

1476

1477

1478

1479

1480

1481

1482

1483

1484

1485

1486

1487

1488

1489

1490

1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1505

1506

1507

1508

1509

1510

1511

1512

1513

1514

1515

1516

1517

1518

1519

1520

1521

1522

1523

1524

1525

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg34

crystal size While most conventional zeolite Y samples are typically 05 micron in size

the resultant DrySyn crystals are an order of magnitude smaller These unusually small

crystals have excellent activity for many hydrocarbon processes

Mesoporous Materials

An area of growing importance is mesoporous materials Since the discovery of

MCM-41[8 ndash 10] in the late 1980s there has been a myriad of articles and patents in this

field Lummus has also been quite active in this field In collaboration with the Technical

University of Delft (the Netherlands) an entirely new group of materials collectively

known as TUD-1[11 ndash 13] has been synthesized TUD-1 is comprised of random three-

dimensional interconnecting pores Unlike the M41S materials and many other mesopor-

ous materials TUD-1 is amorphous and thus has no planes of symmetry and no space

group

TUD-1rsquos amorphous character is shown in Fig 11 which is an electron micrograph of

TUD-1 alongside a ceramic foam of macroscopic scale To conclusively show that the

pores are interconnected a ldquoreverse imagingrdquo technique was developed Here the pores

of a siliceous TUD-1 were filled with sugar molecules that were then carburized The

silica was then dissolved to leave behind only the carbon pore replica The resultant struc-

ture did not collapse conclusively proving that the pores are interconnected

TUD-1 has another important property the pores have a controllable narrow size

distributionmdashtypically from 40 to 120 A with a surface area from 500 to 1000 m2g

Figure 12 shows the trade-off that can be achieved between pore diameter and surface

area Even at the largest pore size the surface area for this Si-TUD-1 is 500 m2gndash20

to 40 higher than typical silica supports

Figure 8 Aromatics alkylation comparison of catalyst performance

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 11

Fig

ure

9

Su

mm

ary

of

HT

Ssy

nth

esis

exp

erim

ents

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg12

These combined properties make TUD-1 an attractive viable catalyst or catalyst

support for many reactions While the major focus has been with alumina silica and

silica-alumina TUD-1 has been made in about 20 different chemical variants As seen

in Table 1 Delft scientists have shown that Ti-TUD-1 is five times more active than its

MCM-41 counterpart for epoxidation even though the surface areas are equivalent[1314]

Figure 10 Comparison of conventional and ldquoDrySynrdquo Y crystallites

Figure 11 Ceramic foam versus TUD-1 an analogy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 13

THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE SIZE AND POROSITY ON

CATALYST ACTIVITY

Catalysts can be custom-tailored for improved performance specifically the well-

known Thiele moduluseffectiveness factor concepts can be applied to demonstrate

mass transfer effects in catalysis The unique features of DrySyn zeolites and TUD-1

are both amenable to this approach

The intrinsic activity [k(o)] can be calculated by measuring the apparent catalyst

activity [k(app)] of a catalyst using two different particle sizes [rp] It follows that

kethappTHORNeth1THORN

kethappTHORNeth2THORNfrac14

heth1THORN

heth2THORNfrac14

3=f1frac121= tanhf1 1=f1

3=f2frac121= tanhf2 1=f2eth1THORN

Figure 12 TUD-1 Trading off pore size and surface area

Table 1 Expoxidation of cyclohexene

Catalysts Surface area m2g Turnover frequency

Ti-MCM-41 921 36

Ti-TUD-1 917 202

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657

658

Dautzenberg14

in which

fi frac14 rpethiTHORN

ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffikethoTHORN

D

reth2THORN

and

hethiTHORN frac14kethappTHORNethiTHORN

kethoTHORNeth3THORN

Through an iterative approximation we establish a value for k(o)D so that Eq (1) is

satisfied For each experimental value of rp we now can calculate f and thus k(o) and

therefore D We subsequently determine k(app) for any value of rp While the effective-

ness factorThiele modulus is usually shown as a log-log plot recasting it on a linear

scale can be quite informative

Figure 13 shows a typical example where this approach has been applied to two differ-

ent zeolite beta catalysts Using ethylbenzene formation as a probe reactive the k(o) of the

DrySyn beta catalyst is 15 higher than the k(o) of the commercial beta catalyst Of indus-

trial importance is the fact that the k(app) for 15 mm DrySyn particles is more than 25

times higher than the k(app) of 15 mm commercial catalyst particles Since the crystal

size of both zeolite beta samples is small (less than 005 micron ultimate crystal size)

the performance difference is probably due to the large number of mesopores in the

DrySyn catalyst which is reflected in the higher value of the effective diffusivity

In addition to altering catalyst activity by different zeolite synthesis routes one can

vary the catalyst support properties for a dramatic impact on catalyst performance This

concept has been shown[1516] to achieve synergistic benefits by combining zeolitic

activity with a mesoporous matrix A specific example is cited here again using the EB

probe reaction Table 2 shows the performance of three alumina-bound commercial Y cata-

lysts and two developmental catalysts using TUD-1 (silica or alumina) as the binding

material (commercial zeolite Y used) The intrinsic activities of the three commercial cata-

lysts reported on a constant zeolite basis are very similar and the intrinsic activities of

the mesoporous Y catalysts are significantly lower However the commercially important

activity is for particles typically greater than 1 mm Figure 14 shows the catalyst activity of

the two types of Y catalysts versus particle size Interestingly although the mesoporous Y

catalyst (here with Si-TUD-1) has a lower intrinsic activity than the commercial Y cata-

lyst the mesoporous Y has triple the activity of the commercial Y catalyst at industrially

relevant particle sizes This activity ldquocross-over effectrdquo is attributable to a tenfold advan-

tage in diffusivity One can quickly see the potential activity advantage that can be

achieved by optimizing the mesoporosity The five catalysts of Table 2 are compared in

Fig 15 Here we see that despite lower intrinsic activities both mesoporous Y catalysts

have superior activity compared to the three commercial Y catalysts at particle size of

15 mm

From the above conclusions one can foresee that another route to raising the overall

catalyst performance is to boost the intrinsic activity of the zeolite itself This concept is

illustrated in Table 3 Again using the EB probe reaction Table 3 shows the performance

of two alumina-bound commercial zeolite beta catalysts and one developmental catalyst

embedded in Si-TUD-1 (commercial zeolite beta used) The second commercial zeolite

beta catalyst (ldquoType IIrdquo) was prepared by a proprietary technique that achieves a

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

659

660

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702

703

704

705

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 15

Fig

ure

13

P

erfo

rman

ceo

fldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquob

eta

ver

sus

com

mer

cial

bet

a(R

ef

ZS

han

etal

M

icro

po

rou

san

dM

ater

ials

20

014

81

81

)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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748

749

750

751

752

Dautzenberg16

Ta

ble

2

Yca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

61

50

1C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

I(7

0

)

36

97

8

10

26

15

30

47

03

00

25

68

10

01

00

2C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

II(8

0

)

33

11

11

10

26

15

60

50

03

10

26

79

09

01

05

3C

om

mer

ical

Y4

63

19

5

10

26

23

80

77

04

90

41

89

12

51

65

4M

eso

po

rou

sY

Si-

TU

D-1

(45

8

)

24

71

31

0

10

26

23

11

48

10

50

91

36

80

67

36

3

5M

eso

po

rou

sY

11

59

93

10

26

11

00

73

05

30

47

40

40

31

18

6

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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792

793

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796

797

798

799

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 17

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

896

897

898

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932

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936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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978

979

980

981

982

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985

986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

988

989

990

991

992

993

994

995

996

997

998

999

1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

1006

1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

1012

1013

1014

1015

1016

1017

1018

1019

1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1035

1036

1037

1038

1039

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1076

1077

1078

1079

1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1082

1083

1084

1085

1086

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1089

1090

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1097

1098

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1100

1101

1102

1103

1104

1105

1106

1107

1108

1109

1110

1111

1112

1113

1114

1115

1116

1117

1118

1119

1120

1121

1122

1123

1124

1125

1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1130

1131

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1175

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1177

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1222

Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1223

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1268

1269

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1401

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1409

1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1458

1459

1460

1461

1462

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1491

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1493

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1496

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1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1505

1506

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1508

1509

1510

1511

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1540

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1544

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1550

1551

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg34

Fig

ure

9

Su

mm

ary

of

HT

Ssy

nth

esis

exp

erim

ents

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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519

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563

564

Dautzenberg12

These combined properties make TUD-1 an attractive viable catalyst or catalyst

support for many reactions While the major focus has been with alumina silica and

silica-alumina TUD-1 has been made in about 20 different chemical variants As seen

in Table 1 Delft scientists have shown that Ti-TUD-1 is five times more active than its

MCM-41 counterpart for epoxidation even though the surface areas are equivalent[1314]

Figure 10 Comparison of conventional and ldquoDrySynrdquo Y crystallites

Figure 11 Ceramic foam versus TUD-1 an analogy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

565

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610

611

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 13

THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE SIZE AND POROSITY ON

CATALYST ACTIVITY

Catalysts can be custom-tailored for improved performance specifically the well-

known Thiele moduluseffectiveness factor concepts can be applied to demonstrate

mass transfer effects in catalysis The unique features of DrySyn zeolites and TUD-1

are both amenable to this approach

The intrinsic activity [k(o)] can be calculated by measuring the apparent catalyst

activity [k(app)] of a catalyst using two different particle sizes [rp] It follows that

kethappTHORNeth1THORN

kethappTHORNeth2THORNfrac14

heth1THORN

heth2THORNfrac14

3=f1frac121= tanhf1 1=f1

3=f2frac121= tanhf2 1=f2eth1THORN

Figure 12 TUD-1 Trading off pore size and surface area

Table 1 Expoxidation of cyclohexene

Catalysts Surface area m2g Turnover frequency

Ti-MCM-41 921 36

Ti-TUD-1 917 202

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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651

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653

654

655

656

657

658

Dautzenberg14

in which

fi frac14 rpethiTHORN

ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffikethoTHORN

D

reth2THORN

and

hethiTHORN frac14kethappTHORNethiTHORN

kethoTHORNeth3THORN

Through an iterative approximation we establish a value for k(o)D so that Eq (1) is

satisfied For each experimental value of rp we now can calculate f and thus k(o) and

therefore D We subsequently determine k(app) for any value of rp While the effective-

ness factorThiele modulus is usually shown as a log-log plot recasting it on a linear

scale can be quite informative

Figure 13 shows a typical example where this approach has been applied to two differ-

ent zeolite beta catalysts Using ethylbenzene formation as a probe reactive the k(o) of the

DrySyn beta catalyst is 15 higher than the k(o) of the commercial beta catalyst Of indus-

trial importance is the fact that the k(app) for 15 mm DrySyn particles is more than 25

times higher than the k(app) of 15 mm commercial catalyst particles Since the crystal

size of both zeolite beta samples is small (less than 005 micron ultimate crystal size)

the performance difference is probably due to the large number of mesopores in the

DrySyn catalyst which is reflected in the higher value of the effective diffusivity

In addition to altering catalyst activity by different zeolite synthesis routes one can

vary the catalyst support properties for a dramatic impact on catalyst performance This

concept has been shown[1516] to achieve synergistic benefits by combining zeolitic

activity with a mesoporous matrix A specific example is cited here again using the EB

probe reaction Table 2 shows the performance of three alumina-bound commercial Y cata-

lysts and two developmental catalysts using TUD-1 (silica or alumina) as the binding

material (commercial zeolite Y used) The intrinsic activities of the three commercial cata-

lysts reported on a constant zeolite basis are very similar and the intrinsic activities of

the mesoporous Y catalysts are significantly lower However the commercially important

activity is for particles typically greater than 1 mm Figure 14 shows the catalyst activity of

the two types of Y catalysts versus particle size Interestingly although the mesoporous Y

catalyst (here with Si-TUD-1) has a lower intrinsic activity than the commercial Y cata-

lyst the mesoporous Y has triple the activity of the commercial Y catalyst at industrially

relevant particle sizes This activity ldquocross-over effectrdquo is attributable to a tenfold advan-

tage in diffusivity One can quickly see the potential activity advantage that can be

achieved by optimizing the mesoporosity The five catalysts of Table 2 are compared in

Fig 15 Here we see that despite lower intrinsic activities both mesoporous Y catalysts

have superior activity compared to the three commercial Y catalysts at particle size of

15 mm

From the above conclusions one can foresee that another route to raising the overall

catalyst performance is to boost the intrinsic activity of the zeolite itself This concept is

illustrated in Table 3 Again using the EB probe reaction Table 3 shows the performance

of two alumina-bound commercial zeolite beta catalysts and one developmental catalyst

embedded in Si-TUD-1 (commercial zeolite beta used) The second commercial zeolite

beta catalyst (ldquoType IIrdquo) was prepared by a proprietary technique that achieves a

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

659

660

661

662

663

664

665

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689

690

691

692

693

694

695

696

697

698

699

700

701

702

703

704

705

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 15

Fig

ure

13

P

erfo

rman

ceo

fldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquob

eta

ver

sus

com

mer

cial

bet

a(R

ef

ZS

han

etal

M

icro

po

rou

san

dM

ater

ials

20

014

81

81

)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

706

707

708

709

710

711

712

713

714

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718

719

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724

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727

728

729

730

731

732

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734

735

736

737

738

739

740

741

742

743

744

745

746

747

748

749

750

751

752

Dautzenberg16

Ta

ble

2

Yca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

61

50

1C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

I(7

0

)

36

97

8

10

26

15

30

47

03

00

25

68

10

01

00

2C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

II(8

0

)

33

11

11

10

26

15

60

50

03

10

26

79

09

01

05

3C

om

mer

ical

Y4

63

19

5

10

26

23

80

77

04

90

41

89

12

51

65

4M

eso

po

rou

sY

Si-

TU

D-1

(45

8

)

24

71

31

0

10

26

23

11

48

10

50

91

36

80

67

36

3

5M

eso

po

rou

sY

11

59

93

10

26

11

00

73

05

30

47

40

40

31

18

6

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

753

754

755

756

757

758

759

760

761

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763

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765

766

767

768

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771

772

773

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779

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785

786

787

788

789

790

791

792

793

794

795

796

797

798

799

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 17

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

800

801

802

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830

831

832

833

834

835

836

837

838

839

840

841

842

843

844

845

846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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863

864

865

866

867

868

869

870

871

872

873

874

875

876

877

878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

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898

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935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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978

979

980

981

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986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1002

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1008

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1021

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1024

1025

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1028

1029

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1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

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1036

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1080

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

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1123

1124

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1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

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Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

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1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1459

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1471

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1482

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1484

1485

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1487

1488

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1491

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1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1505

1506

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1509

1510

1511

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1544

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1551

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1575

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1577

1578

1579

1580

1581

1582

1583

1584

1585

1586

1587

1588

1589

1590

1591

1592

1593

1594

1595

1596

1597

1598

Dautzenberg34

These combined properties make TUD-1 an attractive viable catalyst or catalyst

support for many reactions While the major focus has been with alumina silica and

silica-alumina TUD-1 has been made in about 20 different chemical variants As seen

in Table 1 Delft scientists have shown that Ti-TUD-1 is five times more active than its

MCM-41 counterpart for epoxidation even though the surface areas are equivalent[1314]

Figure 10 Comparison of conventional and ldquoDrySynrdquo Y crystallites

Figure 11 Ceramic foam versus TUD-1 an analogy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

565

566

567

568

569

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571

572

573

574

575

576

577

578

579

580

581

582

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584

585

586

587

588

589

590

591

592

593

594

595

596

597

598

599

600

601

602

603

604

605

606

607

608

609

610

611

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 13

THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE SIZE AND POROSITY ON

CATALYST ACTIVITY

Catalysts can be custom-tailored for improved performance specifically the well-

known Thiele moduluseffectiveness factor concepts can be applied to demonstrate

mass transfer effects in catalysis The unique features of DrySyn zeolites and TUD-1

are both amenable to this approach

The intrinsic activity [k(o)] can be calculated by measuring the apparent catalyst

activity [k(app)] of a catalyst using two different particle sizes [rp] It follows that

kethappTHORNeth1THORN

kethappTHORNeth2THORNfrac14

heth1THORN

heth2THORNfrac14

3=f1frac121= tanhf1 1=f1

3=f2frac121= tanhf2 1=f2eth1THORN

Figure 12 TUD-1 Trading off pore size and surface area

Table 1 Expoxidation of cyclohexene

Catalysts Surface area m2g Turnover frequency

Ti-MCM-41 921 36

Ti-TUD-1 917 202

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

612

613

614

615

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617

618

619

620

621

622

623

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626

627

628

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630

631

632

633

634

635

636

637

638

639

640

641

642

643

644

645

646

647

648

649

650

651

652

653

654

655

656

657

658

Dautzenberg14

in which

fi frac14 rpethiTHORN

ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffikethoTHORN

D

reth2THORN

and

hethiTHORN frac14kethappTHORNethiTHORN

kethoTHORNeth3THORN

Through an iterative approximation we establish a value for k(o)D so that Eq (1) is

satisfied For each experimental value of rp we now can calculate f and thus k(o) and

therefore D We subsequently determine k(app) for any value of rp While the effective-

ness factorThiele modulus is usually shown as a log-log plot recasting it on a linear

scale can be quite informative

Figure 13 shows a typical example where this approach has been applied to two differ-

ent zeolite beta catalysts Using ethylbenzene formation as a probe reactive the k(o) of the

DrySyn beta catalyst is 15 higher than the k(o) of the commercial beta catalyst Of indus-

trial importance is the fact that the k(app) for 15 mm DrySyn particles is more than 25

times higher than the k(app) of 15 mm commercial catalyst particles Since the crystal

size of both zeolite beta samples is small (less than 005 micron ultimate crystal size)

the performance difference is probably due to the large number of mesopores in the

DrySyn catalyst which is reflected in the higher value of the effective diffusivity

In addition to altering catalyst activity by different zeolite synthesis routes one can

vary the catalyst support properties for a dramatic impact on catalyst performance This

concept has been shown[1516] to achieve synergistic benefits by combining zeolitic

activity with a mesoporous matrix A specific example is cited here again using the EB

probe reaction Table 2 shows the performance of three alumina-bound commercial Y cata-

lysts and two developmental catalysts using TUD-1 (silica or alumina) as the binding

material (commercial zeolite Y used) The intrinsic activities of the three commercial cata-

lysts reported on a constant zeolite basis are very similar and the intrinsic activities of

the mesoporous Y catalysts are significantly lower However the commercially important

activity is for particles typically greater than 1 mm Figure 14 shows the catalyst activity of

the two types of Y catalysts versus particle size Interestingly although the mesoporous Y

catalyst (here with Si-TUD-1) has a lower intrinsic activity than the commercial Y cata-

lyst the mesoporous Y has triple the activity of the commercial Y catalyst at industrially

relevant particle sizes This activity ldquocross-over effectrdquo is attributable to a tenfold advan-

tage in diffusivity One can quickly see the potential activity advantage that can be

achieved by optimizing the mesoporosity The five catalysts of Table 2 are compared in

Fig 15 Here we see that despite lower intrinsic activities both mesoporous Y catalysts

have superior activity compared to the three commercial Y catalysts at particle size of

15 mm

From the above conclusions one can foresee that another route to raising the overall

catalyst performance is to boost the intrinsic activity of the zeolite itself This concept is

illustrated in Table 3 Again using the EB probe reaction Table 3 shows the performance

of two alumina-bound commercial zeolite beta catalysts and one developmental catalyst

embedded in Si-TUD-1 (commercial zeolite beta used) The second commercial zeolite

beta catalyst (ldquoType IIrdquo) was prepared by a proprietary technique that achieves a

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

659

660

661

662

663

664

665

666

667

668

669

670

671

672

673

674

675

676

677

678

679

680

681

682

683

684

685

686

687

688

689

690

691

692

693

694

695

696

697

698

699

700

701

702

703

704

705

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 15

Fig

ure

13

P

erfo

rman

ceo

fldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquob

eta

ver

sus

com

mer

cial

bet

a(R

ef

ZS

han

etal

M

icro

po

rou

san

dM

ater

ials

20

014

81

81

)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

706

707

708

709

710

711

712

713

714

715

716

717

718

719

720

721

722

723

724

725

726

727

728

729

730

731

732

733

734

735

736

737

738

739

740

741

742

743

744

745

746

747

748

749

750

751

752

Dautzenberg16

Ta

ble

2

Yca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

61

50

1C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

I(7

0

)

36

97

8

10

26

15

30

47

03

00

25

68

10

01

00

2C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

II(8

0

)

33

11

11

10

26

15

60

50

03

10

26

79

09

01

05

3C

om

mer

ical

Y4

63

19

5

10

26

23

80

77

04

90

41

89

12

51

65

4M

eso

po

rou

sY

Si-

TU

D-1

(45

8

)

24

71

31

0

10

26

23

11

48

10

50

91

36

80

67

36

3

5M

eso

po

rou

sY

11

59

93

10

26

11

00

73

05

30

47

40

40

31

18

6

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

753

754

755

756

757

758

759

760

761

762

763

764

765

766

767

768

769

770

771

772

773

774

775

776

777

778

779

780

781

782

783

784

785

786

787

788

789

790

791

792

793

794

795

796

797

798

799

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 17

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

800

801

802

803

804

805

806

807

808

809

810

811

812

813

814

815

816

817

818

819

820

821

822

823

824

825

826

827

828

829

830

831

832

833

834

835

836

837

838

839

840

841

842

843

844

845

846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

847

848

849

850

851

852

853

854

855

856

857

858

859

860

861

862

863

864

865

866

867

868

869

870

871

872

873

874

875

876

877

878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

896

897

898

899

900

901

902

903

904

905

906

907

908

909

910

911

912

913

914

915

916

917

918

919

920

921

922

923

924

925

926

927

928

929

930

931

932

933

934

935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

941

942

943

944

945

946

947

948

949

950

951

952

953

954

955

956

957

958

959

960

961

962

963

964

965

966

967

968

969

970

971

972

973

974

975

976

977

978

979

980

981

982

983

984

985

986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

988

989

990

991

992

993

994

995

996

997

998

999

1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

1006

1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

1012

1013

1014

1015

1016

1017

1018

1019

1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1035

1036

1037

1038

1039

1040

1041

1042

1043

1044

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1069

1070

1071

1072

1073

1074

1075

1076

1077

1078

1079

1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1082

1083

1084

1085

1086

1087

1088

1089

1090

1091

1092

1093

1094

1095

1096

1097

1098

1099

1100

1101

1102

1103

1104

1105

1106

1107

1108

1109

1110

1111

1112

1113

1114

1115

1116

1117

1118

1119

1120

1121

1122

1123

1124

1125

1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1129

1130

1131

1132

1133

1134

1135

1136

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1160

1161

1162

1163

1164

1165

1166

1167

1168

1169

1170

1171

1172

1173

1174

1175

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1176

1177

1178

1179

1180

1181

1182

1183

1184

1185

1186

1187

1188

1189

1190

1191

1192

1193

1194

1195

1196

1197

1198

1199

1200

1201

1202

1203

1204

1205

1206

1207

1208

1209

1210

1211

1212

1213

1214

1215

1216

1217

1218

1219

1220

1221

1222

Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1223

1224

1225

1226

1227

1228

1229

1230

1231

1232

1233

1234

1235

1236

1237

1238

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1250

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1258

1259

1260

1261

1262

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1264

1265

1266

1267

1268

1269

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1270

1271

1272

1273

1274

1275

1276

1277

1278

1279

1280

1281

1282

1283

1284

1285

1286

1287

1288

1289

1290

1291

1292

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1295

1296

1297

1298

1299

1300

1301

1302

1303

1304

1305

1306

1307

1308

1309

1310

1311

1312

1313

1314

1315

1316

Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1401

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1406

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1409

1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1459

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1461

1462

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1485

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1491

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1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

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1506

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

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Dautzenberg34

THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE SIZE AND POROSITY ON

CATALYST ACTIVITY

Catalysts can be custom-tailored for improved performance specifically the well-

known Thiele moduluseffectiveness factor concepts can be applied to demonstrate

mass transfer effects in catalysis The unique features of DrySyn zeolites and TUD-1

are both amenable to this approach

The intrinsic activity [k(o)] can be calculated by measuring the apparent catalyst

activity [k(app)] of a catalyst using two different particle sizes [rp] It follows that

kethappTHORNeth1THORN

kethappTHORNeth2THORNfrac14

heth1THORN

heth2THORNfrac14

3=f1frac121= tanhf1 1=f1

3=f2frac121= tanhf2 1=f2eth1THORN

Figure 12 TUD-1 Trading off pore size and surface area

Table 1 Expoxidation of cyclohexene

Catalysts Surface area m2g Turnover frequency

Ti-MCM-41 921 36

Ti-TUD-1 917 202

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646

647

648

649

650

651

652

653

654

655

656

657

658

Dautzenberg14

in which

fi frac14 rpethiTHORN

ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffikethoTHORN

D

reth2THORN

and

hethiTHORN frac14kethappTHORNethiTHORN

kethoTHORNeth3THORN

Through an iterative approximation we establish a value for k(o)D so that Eq (1) is

satisfied For each experimental value of rp we now can calculate f and thus k(o) and

therefore D We subsequently determine k(app) for any value of rp While the effective-

ness factorThiele modulus is usually shown as a log-log plot recasting it on a linear

scale can be quite informative

Figure 13 shows a typical example where this approach has been applied to two differ-

ent zeolite beta catalysts Using ethylbenzene formation as a probe reactive the k(o) of the

DrySyn beta catalyst is 15 higher than the k(o) of the commercial beta catalyst Of indus-

trial importance is the fact that the k(app) for 15 mm DrySyn particles is more than 25

times higher than the k(app) of 15 mm commercial catalyst particles Since the crystal

size of both zeolite beta samples is small (less than 005 micron ultimate crystal size)

the performance difference is probably due to the large number of mesopores in the

DrySyn catalyst which is reflected in the higher value of the effective diffusivity

In addition to altering catalyst activity by different zeolite synthesis routes one can

vary the catalyst support properties for a dramatic impact on catalyst performance This

concept has been shown[1516] to achieve synergistic benefits by combining zeolitic

activity with a mesoporous matrix A specific example is cited here again using the EB

probe reaction Table 2 shows the performance of three alumina-bound commercial Y cata-

lysts and two developmental catalysts using TUD-1 (silica or alumina) as the binding

material (commercial zeolite Y used) The intrinsic activities of the three commercial cata-

lysts reported on a constant zeolite basis are very similar and the intrinsic activities of

the mesoporous Y catalysts are significantly lower However the commercially important

activity is for particles typically greater than 1 mm Figure 14 shows the catalyst activity of

the two types of Y catalysts versus particle size Interestingly although the mesoporous Y

catalyst (here with Si-TUD-1) has a lower intrinsic activity than the commercial Y cata-

lyst the mesoporous Y has triple the activity of the commercial Y catalyst at industrially

relevant particle sizes This activity ldquocross-over effectrdquo is attributable to a tenfold advan-

tage in diffusivity One can quickly see the potential activity advantage that can be

achieved by optimizing the mesoporosity The five catalysts of Table 2 are compared in

Fig 15 Here we see that despite lower intrinsic activities both mesoporous Y catalysts

have superior activity compared to the three commercial Y catalysts at particle size of

15 mm

From the above conclusions one can foresee that another route to raising the overall

catalyst performance is to boost the intrinsic activity of the zeolite itself This concept is

illustrated in Table 3 Again using the EB probe reaction Table 3 shows the performance

of two alumina-bound commercial zeolite beta catalysts and one developmental catalyst

embedded in Si-TUD-1 (commercial zeolite beta used) The second commercial zeolite

beta catalyst (ldquoType IIrdquo) was prepared by a proprietary technique that achieves a

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

659

660

661

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685

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690

691

692

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697

698

699

700

701

702

703

704

705

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 15

Fig

ure

13

P

erfo

rman

ceo

fldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquob

eta

ver

sus

com

mer

cial

bet

a(R

ef

ZS

han

etal

M

icro

po

rou

san

dM

ater

ials

20

014

81

81

)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

706

707

708

709

710

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713

714

715

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728

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730

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732

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738

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744

745

746

747

748

749

750

751

752

Dautzenberg16

Ta

ble

2

Yca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

61

50

1C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

I(7

0

)

36

97

8

10

26

15

30

47

03

00

25

68

10

01

00

2C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

II(8

0

)

33

11

11

10

26

15

60

50

03

10

26

79

09

01

05

3C

om

mer

ical

Y4

63

19

5

10

26

23

80

77

04

90

41

89

12

51

65

4M

eso

po

rou

sY

Si-

TU

D-1

(45

8

)

24

71

31

0

10

26

23

11

48

10

50

91

36

80

67

36

3

5M

eso

po

rou

sY

11

59

93

10

26

11

00

73

05

30

47

40

40

31

18

6

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

753

754

755

756

757

758

759

760

761

762

763

764

765

766

767

768

769

770

771

772

773

774

775

776

777

778

779

780

781

782

783

784

785

786

787

788

789

790

791

792

793

794

795

796

797

798

799

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 17

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

800

801

802

803

804

805

806

807

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811

812

813

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815

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818

819

820

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825

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829

830

831

832

833

834

835

836

837

838

839

840

841

842

843

844

845

846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

847

848

849

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851

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863

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865

866

867

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870

871

872

873

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875

876

877

878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

896

897

898

899

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901

902

903

904

905

906

907

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910

911

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914

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930

931

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933

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935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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956

957

958

959

960

961

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967

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971

972

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974

975

976

977

978

979

980

981

982

983

984

985

986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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989

990

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998

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1002

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1016

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1021

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1024

1025

1026

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1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1036

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1038

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1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1121

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1123

1124

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1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1270

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Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

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1400

1401

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1405

1406

1407

1408

1409

1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1411

1412

1413

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1459

1460

1461

1462

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1464

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1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1505

1506

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1508

1509

1510

1511

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1539

1540

1541

1542

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1544

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1546

1547

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1549

1550

1551

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1598

Dautzenberg34

in which

fi frac14 rpethiTHORN

ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffikethoTHORN

D

reth2THORN

and

hethiTHORN frac14kethappTHORNethiTHORN

kethoTHORNeth3THORN

Through an iterative approximation we establish a value for k(o)D so that Eq (1) is

satisfied For each experimental value of rp we now can calculate f and thus k(o) and

therefore D We subsequently determine k(app) for any value of rp While the effective-

ness factorThiele modulus is usually shown as a log-log plot recasting it on a linear

scale can be quite informative

Figure 13 shows a typical example where this approach has been applied to two differ-

ent zeolite beta catalysts Using ethylbenzene formation as a probe reactive the k(o) of the

DrySyn beta catalyst is 15 higher than the k(o) of the commercial beta catalyst Of indus-

trial importance is the fact that the k(app) for 15 mm DrySyn particles is more than 25

times higher than the k(app) of 15 mm commercial catalyst particles Since the crystal

size of both zeolite beta samples is small (less than 005 micron ultimate crystal size)

the performance difference is probably due to the large number of mesopores in the

DrySyn catalyst which is reflected in the higher value of the effective diffusivity

In addition to altering catalyst activity by different zeolite synthesis routes one can

vary the catalyst support properties for a dramatic impact on catalyst performance This

concept has been shown[1516] to achieve synergistic benefits by combining zeolitic

activity with a mesoporous matrix A specific example is cited here again using the EB

probe reaction Table 2 shows the performance of three alumina-bound commercial Y cata-

lysts and two developmental catalysts using TUD-1 (silica or alumina) as the binding

material (commercial zeolite Y used) The intrinsic activities of the three commercial cata-

lysts reported on a constant zeolite basis are very similar and the intrinsic activities of

the mesoporous Y catalysts are significantly lower However the commercially important

activity is for particles typically greater than 1 mm Figure 14 shows the catalyst activity of

the two types of Y catalysts versus particle size Interestingly although the mesoporous Y

catalyst (here with Si-TUD-1) has a lower intrinsic activity than the commercial Y cata-

lyst the mesoporous Y has triple the activity of the commercial Y catalyst at industrially

relevant particle sizes This activity ldquocross-over effectrdquo is attributable to a tenfold advan-

tage in diffusivity One can quickly see the potential activity advantage that can be

achieved by optimizing the mesoporosity The five catalysts of Table 2 are compared in

Fig 15 Here we see that despite lower intrinsic activities both mesoporous Y catalysts

have superior activity compared to the three commercial Y catalysts at particle size of

15 mm

From the above conclusions one can foresee that another route to raising the overall

catalyst performance is to boost the intrinsic activity of the zeolite itself This concept is

illustrated in Table 3 Again using the EB probe reaction Table 3 shows the performance

of two alumina-bound commercial zeolite beta catalysts and one developmental catalyst

embedded in Si-TUD-1 (commercial zeolite beta used) The second commercial zeolite

beta catalyst (ldquoType IIrdquo) was prepared by a proprietary technique that achieves a

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

659

660

661

662

663

664

665

666

667

668

669

670

671

672

673

674

675

676

677

678

679

680

681

682

683

684

685

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687

688

689

690

691

692

693

694

695

696

697

698

699

700

701

702

703

704

705

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 15

Fig

ure

13

P

erfo

rman

ceo

fldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquob

eta

ver

sus

com

mer

cial

bet

a(R

ef

ZS

han

etal

M

icro

po

rou

san

dM

ater

ials

20

014

81

81

)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

706

707

708

709

710

711

712

713

714

715

716

717

718

719

720

721

722

723

724

725

726

727

728

729

730

731

732

733

734

735

736

737

738

739

740

741

742

743

744

745

746

747

748

749

750

751

752

Dautzenberg16

Ta

ble

2

Yca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

61

50

1C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

I(7

0

)

36

97

8

10

26

15

30

47

03

00

25

68

10

01

00

2C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

II(8

0

)

33

11

11

10

26

15

60

50

03

10

26

79

09

01

05

3C

om

mer

ical

Y4

63

19

5

10

26

23

80

77

04

90

41

89

12

51

65

4M

eso

po

rou

sY

Si-

TU

D-1

(45

8

)

24

71

31

0

10

26

23

11

48

10

50

91

36

80

67

36

3

5M

eso

po

rou

sY

11

59

93

10

26

11

00

73

05

30

47

40

40

31

18

6

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

753

754

755

756

757

758

759

760

761

762

763

764

765

766

767

768

769

770

771

772

773

774

775

776

777

778

779

780

781

782

783

784

785

786

787

788

789

790

791

792

793

794

795

796

797

798

799

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 17

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

800

801

802

803

804

805

806

807

808

809

810

811

812

813

814

815

816

817

818

819

820

821

822

823

824

825

826

827

828

829

830

831

832

833

834

835

836

837

838

839

840

841

842

843

844

845

846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

847

848

849

850

851

852

853

854

855

856

857

858

859

860

861

862

863

864

865

866

867

868

869

870

871

872

873

874

875

876

877

878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

896

897

898

899

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901

902

903

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906

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910

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913

914

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917

918

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921

922

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925

926

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928

929

930

931

932

933

934

935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

941

942

943

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951

952

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957

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960

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971

972

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975

976

977

978

979

980

981

982

983

984

985

986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

988

989

990

991

992

993

994

995

996

997

998

999

1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

1006

1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

1012

1013

1014

1015

1016

1017

1018

1019

1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1035

1036

1037

1038

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1077

1078

1079

1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

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1082

1083

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1101

1102

1103

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1111

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1117

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1119

1120

1121

1122

1123

1124

1125

1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1164

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1167

1168

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1170

1171

1172

1173

1174

1175

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1176

1177

1178

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1180

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1190

1191

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1200

1201

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1220

1221

1222

Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

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1223

1224

1225

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1234

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1267

1268

1269

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1270

1271

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1309

1310

1311

1312

1313

1314

1315

1316

Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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1318

1319

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1360

1361

1362

1363

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1364

1365

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1371

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1399

1400

1401

1402

1403

1404

1405

1406

1407

1408

1409

1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1411

1412

1413

1414

1415

1416

1417

1418

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1420

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1422

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1425

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1427

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1449

1450

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1453

1454

1455

1456

1457

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1458

1459

1460

1461

1462

1463

1464

1465

1466

1467

1468

1469

1470

1471

1472

1473

1474

1475

1476

1477

1478

1479

1480

1481

1482

1483

1484

1485

1486

1487

1488

1489

1490

1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1588

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1592

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1595

1596

1597

1598

Dautzenberg34

Fig

ure

13

P

erfo

rman

ceo

fldquoD

ryS

yn

rdquob

eta

ver

sus

com

mer

cial

bet

a(R

ef

ZS

han

etal

M

icro

po

rou

san

dM

ater

ials

20

014

81

81

)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

706

707

708

709

710

711

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713

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715

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717

718

719

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726

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728

729

730

731

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738

739

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741

742

743

744

745

746

747

748

749

750

751

752

Dautzenberg16

Ta

ble

2

Yca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

61

50

1C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

I(7

0

)

36

97

8

10

26

15

30

47

03

00

25

68

10

01

00

2C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

II(8

0

)

33

11

11

10

26

15

60

50

03

10

26

79

09

01

05

3C

om

mer

ical

Y4

63

19

5

10

26

23

80

77

04

90

41

89

12

51

65

4M

eso

po

rou

sY

Si-

TU

D-1

(45

8

)

24

71

31

0

10

26

23

11

48

10

50

91

36

80

67

36

3

5M

eso

po

rou

sY

11

59

93

10

26

11

00

73

05

30

47

40

40

31

18

6

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

753

754

755

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781

782

783

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785

786

787

788

789

790

791

792

793

794

795

796

797

798

799

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 17

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

800

801

802

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804

805

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832

833

834

835

836

837

838

839

840

841

842

843

844

845

846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

847

848

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876

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878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

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914

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921

922

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924

925

926

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928

929

930

931

932

933

934

935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

941

942

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978

979

980

981

982

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985

986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

988

989

990

991

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993

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998

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1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

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1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

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1013

1014

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1016

1017

1018

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1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1035

1036

1037

1038

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1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1082

1083

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1101

1102

1103

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1111

1112

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1117

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1119

1120

1121

1122

1123

1124

1125

1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1174

1175

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1176

1177

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1191

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1220

1221

1222

Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1234

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1269

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1309

1310

1311

1312

1313

1314

1315

1316

Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1317

1318

1319

1320

1321

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1359

1360

1361

1362

1363

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

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1540

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1547

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1550

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1595

1596

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1598

Dautzenberg34

Ta

ble

2

Yca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

61

50

1C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

I(7

0

)

36

97

8

10

26

15

30

47

03

00

25

68

10

01

00

2C

om

mer

cial

Y

Ty

pe

II(8

0

)

33

11

11

10

26

15

60

50

03

10

26

79

09

01

05

3C

om

mer

ical

Y4

63

19

5

10

26

23

80

77

04

90

41

89

12

51

65

4M

eso

po

rou

sY

Si-

TU

D-1

(45

8

)

24

71

31

0

10

26

23

11

48

10

50

91

36

80

67

36

3

5M

eso

po

rou

sY

11

59

93

10

26

11

00

73

05

30

47

40

40

31

18

6

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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754

755

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776

777

778

779

780

781

782

783

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785

786

787

788

789

790

791

792

793

794

795

796

797

798

799

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 17

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

800

801

802

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832

833

834

835

836

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839

840

841

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843

844

845

846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

847

848

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851

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865

866

867

868

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870

871

872

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876

877

878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

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897

898

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901

902

903

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906

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909

910

911

912

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914

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921

922

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924

925

926

927

928

929

930

931

932

933

934

935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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971

972

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975

976

977

978

979

980

981

982

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985

986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

988

989

990

991

992

993

994

995

996

997

998

999

1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

1006

1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

1012

1013

1014

1015

1016

1017

1018

1019

1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1035

1036

1037

1038

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1077

1078

1079

1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1082

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1109

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1111

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1119

1120

1121

1122

1123

1124

1125

1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1130

1131

1132

1133

1134

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1171

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1173

1174

1175

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1176

1177

1178

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1220

1221

1222

Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1459

1460

1461

1462

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1477

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1479

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1485

1486

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1488

1489

1490

1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1550

1551

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg34

Fig

ure

14

E

Bac

tiv

ity

asfu

nct

ion

of

par

ticl

esi

ze

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

800

801

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832

833

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839

840

841

842

843

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846

Dautzenberg18

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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865

866

867

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870

871

872

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875

876

877

878

879

880

881

882

883

884

885

886

887

888

889

890

891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

896

897

898

899

900

901

902

903

904

905

906

907

908

909

910

911

912

913

914

915

916

917

918

919

920

921

922

923

924

925

926

927

928

929

930

931

932

933

934

935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

941

942

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960

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967

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972

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974

975

976

977

978

979

980

981

982

983

984

985

986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

988

989

990

991

992

993

994

995

996

997

998

999

1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

1006

1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

1012

1013

1014

1015

1016

1017

1018

1019

1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1035

1036

1037

1038

1039

1040

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1070

1071

1072

1073

1074

1075

1076

1077

1078

1079

1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1082

1083

1084

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1101

1102

1103

1104

1105

1106

1107

1108

1109

1110

1111

1112

1113

1114

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1116

1117

1118

1119

1120

1121

1122

1123

1124

1125

1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

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Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

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1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1459

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1461

1462

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1479

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1485

1486

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1488

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1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1506

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg34

Fig

ure

15

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teY

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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880

881

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883

884

885

886

887

888

889

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891

892

893

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 19

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

896

897

898

899

900

901

902

903

904

905

906

907

908

909

910

911

912

913

914

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916

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921

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924

925

926

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928

929

930

931

932

933

934

935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

941

942

943

944

945

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947

948

949

950

951

952

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954

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956

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960

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967

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971

972

973

974

975

976

977

978

979

980

981

982

983

984

985

986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

988

989

990

991

992

993

994

995

996

997

998

999

1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

1006

1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

1012

1013

1014

1015

1016

1017

1018

1019

1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1035

1036

1037

1038

1039

1040

1041

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1069

1070

1071

1072

1073

1074

1075

1076

1077

1078

1079

1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1082

1083

1084

1085

1086

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1088

1089

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1091

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1096

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1101

1102

1103

1104

1105

1106

1107

1108

1109

1110

1111

1112

1113

1114

1115

1116

1117

1118

1119

1120

1121

1122

1123

1124

1125

1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1461

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1479

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1482

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1484

1485

1486

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1488

1489

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1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

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1551

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg34

Ta

ble

3

Bet

aca

taly

sts

per

form

ance

Ref

C

atal

yst

k(o

)

1s

ec

Eff

D

cm2s

ec

k(a

pp

)in

1s

ecat

par

tsi

zein

mm

Cat

aly

st

effe

ct

at

15

mm

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(o

)

Rel

ran

kin

g

of

k(1

5)

02

10

78

12

51

50

1C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eI

(80

)

08

82

5

10

26

07

40

34

02

30

19

02

11

00

10

0

2C

om

mer

cial

bet

aT

yp

eII

(80

)

18

96

7

10

26

16

40

80

05

40

46

02

52

16

24

7

4M

eso

po

rou

s

bet

aS

i-T

UD

-1

(40

)

10

01

40

0

10

26

09

80

80

06

30

55

05

51

14

29

3

No

te

Bo

ldfrac14

Ex

per

imen

tal

val

ues

al

lk

val

ues

at1

00

ze

oli

teb

asis

M

anu

fact

uri

ng

bas

edo

np

rop

riet

ary

Lu

mm

usrsquo

syn

thes

ism

od

ifica

tio

nm

eth

od

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

894

895

896

897

898

899

900

901

902

903

904

905

906

907

908

909

910

911

912

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920

921

922

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924

925

926

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928

929

930

931

932

933

934

935

936

937

938

939

940

Dautzenberg20

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

941

942

943

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950

951

952

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954

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956

957

958

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960

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967

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969

970

971

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974

975

976

977

978

979

980

981

982

983

984

985

986

987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

988

989

990

991

992

993

994

995

996

997

998

999

1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

1006

1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

1012

1013

1014

1015

1016

1017

1018

1019

1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1035

1036

1037

1038

1039

1040

1041

1042

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1069

1070

1071

1072

1073

1074

1075

1076

1077

1078

1079

1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1082

1083

1084

1085

1086

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1088

1089

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1091

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1095

1096

1097

1098

1099

1100

1101

1102

1103

1104

1105

1106

1107

1108

1109

1110

1111

1112

1113

1114

1115

1116

1117

1118

1119

1120

1121

1122

1123

1124

1125

1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1459

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1461

1462

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1479

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1482

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1485

1486

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1488

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1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg34

two- to threefold intrinsic activity boost This intrinsic activity boost is seen when compar-

ing the two commercial catalysts Again the commercially important activity is for par-

ticles typically greater than 1 mm At 125 mm particle size the activity advantage of

the Type II zeolite beta is being maintained More importantly the highest activity catalyst

is the beta in TUD-1 which has the highest effective diffusivity Specifically the activity

here is three times higher than the commercial zeolite beta (ldquoType Irdquo) catalyst These

results were not optimized so it is possible that even larger benefits can be reaped by

further tailoring the mesoporous structure and possibly composition

These performance attributes are shown graphically in Fig 16 which shows the cata-

lyst activity of the three beta catalysts The key observation here is that rankings based on

intrinsic activity can be misleading This is another illustration of the powerful impact that

pore architecture can have on catalyst activity

MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS

Since most industrially relevant reactions are either endothermic or exothermic the

management of heat transfer is usually a key consideration in reaction engineering

design In many cases reactor selection is based on how one is able to remove or add

energy Conventional designs for highly energetic systems are therefore usually based

on fixed bed tubular and fluid bed reactors with internal or external heat exchangers

Intra-reactor process intensification[7] based on combining reaction with heat transfer

may offer a new opportunity to broaden the reactor selection possibilities Three specific

examples are used to describe this new approach (1) intra-reactor oxidative reheat for the

production of styrene by staging endothermic and exothermic reactions in series (2) sim-

ultaneous operation of endothermic dissociative adsorption of methane with exothermic

oxidative removal of carbon during catalytic partial oxidation and (3) catalytic distillation

for the production of ethers ethylbenzene or cumene and the selective hydrogenation of

highly unsaturated components in olefins streams

Intra-reactor Oxidative Reheat

The production of styrene by dehydrogenation of EB is carried out in adiabatic fixed

bed reactors The reaction is highly endothermic and the heat is provided between the reac-

tors by two methods addition of high temperature steam and heat exchange[17] Due to the

high steam-to-EB ratio the combined volumetric flow rate is high and consequently

radial flow fixed bed reactors are chosen to avoid pressure drop limitations Intra-

reactor heat exchange between catalyst beds results in higher overall bed temperatures

and in principle can lead to better spacendashtime yields Unfortunately it is difficult to

install conventional heat exchangers in the radial direction while also assuring acceptable

temperature uniformity keeping the reactor compact and avoiding large thermal zones

To address this problem a new solution was developed employing catalytic combustion

of hydrogen to water This reaction adds heat locally to the system and raises the overall

average reactor temperature thereby boosting the overall conversion Figure 17 illustrates

how endothermic ethylene dehydrogenation can be integrated with the exothermic

combustion of hydrogen This new method of adding heat is shown schematically in

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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978

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987

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 21

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

988

989

990

991

992

993

994

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996

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998

999

1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

1006

1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

1012

1013

1014

1015

1016

1017

1018

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1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

1028

1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

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1035

1036

1037

1038

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1075

1076

1077

1078

1079

1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1082

1083

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1101

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1103

1104

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1111

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1117

1118

1119

1120

1121

1122

1123

1124

1125

1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1130

1131

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1175

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1177

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1191

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1200

1201

1202

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1211

1212

1213

1214

1215

1216

1217

1218

1219

1220

1221

1222

Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1223

1224

1225

1226

1227

1228

1229

1230

1231

1232

1233

1234

1235

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1257

1258

1259

1260

1261

1262

1263

1264

1265

1266

1267

1268

1269

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1270

1271

1272

1273

1274

1275

1276

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1278

1279

1280

1281

1282

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1284

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1286

1287

1288

1289

1290

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1292

1293

1294

1295

1296

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1299

1300

1301

1302

1303

1304

1305

1306

1307

1308

1309

1310

1311

1312

1313

1314

1315

1316

Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1317

1318

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1360

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1362

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1400

1401

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1406

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1408

1409

1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1411

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1413

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1457

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1458

1459

1460

1461

1462

1463

1464

1465

1466

1467

1468

1469

1470

1471

1472

1473

1474

1475

1476

1477

1478

1479

1480

1481

1482

1483

1484

1485

1486

1487

1488

1489

1490

1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1506

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1508

1509

1510

1511

1512

1513

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1531

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1539

1540

1541

1542

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1544

1545

1546

1547

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1550

1551

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg34

Fig

ure

16

R

elat

ive

ran

kin

go

fze

oli

teb

eta

cata

lyst

su

sin

gE

Bp

rob

ere

acti

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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989

990

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992

993

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998

999

1000

1001

1002

1003

1004

1005

1006

1007

1008

1009

1010

1011

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1013

1014

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1016

1017

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1020

1021

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1027

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1029

1030

1031

1032

1033

1034

Dautzenberg22

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1035

1036

1037

1038

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1073

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1075

1076

1077

1078

1079

1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1082

1083

1084

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1100

1101

1102

1103

1104

1105

1106

1107

1108

1109

1110

1111

1112

1113

1114

1115

1116

1117

1118

1119

1120

1121

1122

1123

1124

1125

1126

1127

1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1129

1130

1131

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1134

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1163

1164

1165

1166

1167

1168

1169

1170

1171

1172

1173

1174

1175

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1176

1177

1178

1179

1180

1181

1182

1183

1184

1185

1186

1187

1188

1189

1190

1191

1192

1193

1194

1195

1196

1197

1198

1199

1200

1201

1202

1203

1204

1205

1206

1207

1208

1209

1210

1211

1212

1213

1214

1215

1216

1217

1218

1219

1220

1221

1222

Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1223

1224

1225

1226

1227

1228

1229

1230

1231

1232

1233

1234

1235

1236

1237

1238

1239

1240

1241

1242

1243

1244

1245

1246

1247

1248

1249

1250

1251

1252

1253

1254

1255

1256

1257

1258

1259

1260

1261

1262

1263

1264

1265

1266

1267

1268

1269

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1270

1271

1272

1273

1274

1275

1276

1277

1278

1279

1280

1281

1282

1283

1284

1285

1286

1287

1288

1289

1290

1291

1292

1293

1294

1295

1296

1297

1298

1299

1300

1301

1302

1303

1304

1305

1306

1307

1308

1309

1310

1311

1312

1313

1314

1315

1316

Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1317

1318

1319

1320

1321

1322

1323

1324

1325

1326

1327

1328

1329

1330

1331

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1333

1334

1335

1336

1337

1338

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1340

1341

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1344

1345

1346

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1348

1349

1350

1351

1352

1353

1354

1355

1356

1357

1358

1359

1360

1361

1362

1363

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1364

1365

1366

1367

1368

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1371

1372

1373

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1380

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1386

1387

1388

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1391

1392

1393

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1395

1396

1397

1398

1399

1400

1401

1402

1403

1404

1405

1406

1407

1408

1409

1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

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no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

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on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1457

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1458

1459

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1477

1478

1479

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1481

1482

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1484

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1487

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1490

1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1505

1506

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg34

Fig 18 where intra-reactor reheat is employed in stages The new design known as

SMART (Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology) has already been successfully

commercialized in five plants

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane (CPO)

The intra-reactor reheat principle can also be applied to the production of syngas

(COH2) from methane It is well known that conventional steam reforming of methane

is highly endothermic During CPO methane is dissociatively absorbed on the catalyst

producing hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue This residue is converted into CO and

H2O by oxidation and this reaction generates energy (exothermic) driving the endother-

mic steam reforming reaction that is happening in parallel With an optimized catalyst

ldquocokelessrdquo steam reforming appears to be feasible As a preferred reactor configuration

a reactor concept called ldquoComposite Structured Packingrdquo (CSP) is proposed ideally

suited for high superficial gas velocities as envisioned for CPO

Several noble-metal-containing catalysts have been proposed for CPO Figure 19

compares the temperature-programmed oxidation of Rh Ni and Ni-B upon exposure to

methane decomposition With Rh the resulting carbon residues are removed at relatively

Figure 17 Catalytic cycle for Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1080

1081

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 23

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1401

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1405

1406

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1409

1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1411

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1452

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1454

1455

1456

1457

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1458

1459

1460

1461

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1465

1466

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1491

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1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1505

1506

1507

1508

1509

1510

1511

1512

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg34

low temperature This is not the case with Ni Upon exposure to CH4 graphitic carbon is

deposited upon the Ni catalyst and this can be removed only at high temperature With a

catalyst based on an alloy of Ni and B most of the carbon is removed at a substantially

lower temperature while the amount of carbon needed to be removed at high temperature

is significantly reduced

Figure 20 shows the CPO performance of one of the novel Ni-B catalysts developed

during a collaborative project with the National University of Singapore[18] Note that the

product composition is essentially at equilibrium even at the extremely high space velo-

city applied during the testing In Fig 21 the ldquomethane conversionrdquo versus ldquotime

onstreamrdquo shows that the catalyst is unusually stable no initial deactivation period

occurs consistent with its noncoking behavior Another important benefit of the new

CPO catalyst is the close approach to thermal neutrality thus simplifying heat manage-

ment and improving thermal efficiency This feature is important if one wants to design

ultra-compact hydrogen generators

Catalytic Distillation

As the name implies catalytic distillation (CD)[19 ndash 22] intimately integrates catalytic

reaction and product separation by distillation CD is well suited for processes where the

feed and the product have a significantly different boiling range thereby facilitating

separation and many times enhancing selectivity by applying relatively low reaction temp-

eratures The heat of reaction is used for separation and therefore facilitates heat mana-

gement The predominantly liquid phase also aids catalyst stability Figure 22 illustrates

Figure 18 New reactor system of Styrene Monomer Advanced Reheat Technology (SMART)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1121

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1123

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1128

Dautzenberg24

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1129

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1174

1175

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1177

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1222

Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1223

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1269

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1314

1315

1316

Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1401

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1406

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1408

1409

1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1457

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1459

1460

1461

1462

1463

1464

1465

1466

1467

1468

1469

1470

1471

1472

1473

1474

1475

1476

1477

1478

1479

1480

1481

1482

1483

1484

1485

1486

1487

1488

1489

1490

1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1505

1506

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1509

1510

1511

1512

1513

1514

1515

1516

1517

1518

1519

1520

1521

1522

1523

1524

1525

1526

1527

1528

1529

1530

1531

1532

1533

1534

1535

1536

1537

1538

1539

1540

1541

1542

1543

1544

1545

1546

1547

1548

1549

1550

1551

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1552

1553

1554

1555

1556

1557

1558

1559

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1573

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1589

1590

1591

1592

1593

1594

1595

1596

1597

1598

Dautzenberg34

one typical application of a CD technology the CDHydrow process for the selective

hydrogenation of benzene in reformate fractions The family of CD technologies has

grown quite extensively and today the number of commercially licensed units is about

150 Table 4 shows some of the CD applications that have been commercialized

One of the major petrochemical processesmdashsteam cracking for the production of

ethylenemdashis often perceived to be strictly thermal in nature However much of the down-

stream separation processes which are both energy and capital intensive can benefit from

catalytic advances In the production of ethylene and propylene through pyrolysis of

various feedstocks several undesirable by-products (eg dienes and acetylenes) are

Figure 19 TPO profiles of carburized CPO catalysts

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1129

1130

1131

1132

1133

1134

1135

1136

1137

1138

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1140

1141

1142

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1166

1167

1168

1169

1170

1171

1172

1173

1174

1175

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 25

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1176

1177

1178

1179

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1181

1182

1183

1184

1185

1186

1187

1188

1189

1190

1191

1192

1193

1194

1195

1196

1197

1198

1199

1200

1201

1202

1203

1204

1205

1206

1207

1208

1209

1210

1211

1212

1213

1214

1215

1216

1217

1218

1219

1220

1221

1222

Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1223

1224

1225

1226

1227

1228

1229

1230

1231

1232

1233

1234

1235

1236

1237

1238

1239

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1258

1259

1260

1261

1262

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1264

1265

1266

1267

1268

1269

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1307

1308

1309

1310

1311

1312

1313

1314

1315

1316

Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1317

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1401

1402

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1404

1405

1406

1407

1408

1409

1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1454

1455

1456

1457

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1458

1459

1460

1461

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1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1505

1506

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg34

Fig

ure

20

T

yp

ical

cata

lyti

cp

arti

alo

xid

atio

nre

sult

s

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg26

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1223

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1317

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1408

1409

1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1450

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1452

1453

1454

1455

1456

1457

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1458

1459

1460

1461

1462

1463

1464

1465

1466

1467

1468

1469

1470

1471

1472

1473

1474

1475

1476

1477

1478

1479

1480

1481

1482

1483

1484

1485

1486

1487

1488

1489

1490

1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1505

1506

1507

1508

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1546

1547

1548

1549

1550

1551

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1552

1553

1554

1555

1556

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1558

1559

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1593

1594

1595

1596

1597

1598

Dautzenberg34

created As such further processing is required for the separation and removal of the

dienesacetylenes from the primary olefin products Dictated by process economics

most of the C2 and heavier dienesacetylenes must be handled through a combination

of separation and hydrogenation since separation alone would result in excessive loss of

the olefin product

Currently the distillation and hydrogenation take place in several distinct process

steps designed to separate and hydrogenate the C2C3 and C4 compounds independently

(Fig 23) A disadvantage of this widely practiced conventional technology is the large

energy consumption required to generate the high pressures and cryogenic temperatures

to first separate and subsequently remove hydrogen from the cracked gas Additionally

the chemistry of each hydrogenation step (eg C2C3 etc) requires an independent

reactor system thereby driving up the plantrsquos capital cost and complexity

To offset these disadvantages the ldquoFront-End CDHydrordquo process (Fig 24) was devel-

oped as a one-step conversion of all C2ndashC5 and even heavier dienesacetylenes without

hydrogenation of the desired C2C3 olefins[2324] The objective is to Q3simultaneously

(a) consume dilute hydrogen through the elimination of undesirable dienes and acetylenes

thereby reducing refrigeration and compression cost and (b) combine reaction and separa-

tion into one step This new process greatly reduces the unit equipment ldquopiece countrdquo

by eliminating the separate hydrogenation reactors of the C2ndashC4 streams The heat of

Figure 21 CPO combined with steam reforming

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1223

1224

1225

1226

1227

1228

1229

1230

1231

1232

1233

1234

1235

1236

1237

1238

1239

1240

1241

1242

1243

1244

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1261

1262

1263

1264

1265

1266

1267

1268

1269

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 27

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1270

1271

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1301

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1305

1306

1307

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1309

1310

1311

1312

1313

1314

1315

1316

Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1317

1318

1319

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1329

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1352

1353

1354

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1363

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1371

1372

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1376

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1390

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1396

1397

1398

1399

1400

1401

1402

1403

1404

1405

1406

1407

1408

1409

1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1448

1449

1450

1451

1452

1453

1454

1455

1456

1457

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1458

1459

1460

1461

1462

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1466

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1488

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1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1505

1506

1507

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1544

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1546

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1551

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1552

1553

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1593

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1598

Dautzenberg34

Fig

ure

22

N

ewC

DT

EC

Hb

enze

ne

hy

dro

gen

atio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1311

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1313

1314

1315

1316

Dautzenberg28

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1317

1318

1319

1320

1321

1322

1323

1324

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1371

1372

1373

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1390

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1397

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1399

1400

1401

1402

1403

1404

1405

1406

1407

1408

1409

1410

Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1411

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1450

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1452

1453

1454

1455

1456

1457

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1458

1459

1460

1461

1462

1463

1464

1465

1466

1467

1468

1469

1470

1471

1472

1473

1474

1475

1476

1477

1478

1479

1480

1481

1482

1483

1484

1485

1486

1487

1488

1489

1490

1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1505

1506

1507

1508

1509

1510

1511

1512

1513

1514

1515

1516

1517

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1519

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1522

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1540

1541

1542

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1544

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1546

1547

1548

1549

1550

1551

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1552

1553

1554

1555

1556

1557

1558

1559

1560

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1568

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1593

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1595

1596

1597

1598

Dautzenberg34

reaction in the catalytic distillation reactor is used for separation and therefore improves

overall heat management In contrast to conventional fixed bed reactor systems where

dimers and oligomers accumulate and cause catalyst fouling the CD reactor ensures

that these undesirable components are removed by fractionation As a result this

process achieves prolonged catalyst life

The advancements achieved with the ldquoFront End CDHydrordquo process integrated with

several other Lummus innovations represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in

ethylene technology over the past 25 years

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the results presented in this paper the following conclusions have been

formulated

The catalyst synthesis examples described in this paper demonstrate that tailoring

the pore architecture of catalysts has several benefits Higher overall reaction rates

and yields can be obtained and in certain cases catalyst stability is also improved

by reducing the formation of catalyst deactivating precursors

The ldquoDrySynrdquo synthesis procedure can be optimized to make zeolite catalysts with

ultra-small crystallites This may benefit the development of catalysts with high

intrinsic activity The synthesis is very effective if mesoporous supports are used

to achieve a high degree of utilization

Inserting Y as well as beta in TUD-1 materials increases catalyst activity for aro-

matics alkylation to levels that have not been achieved with conventional zeolite

catalysts The open three-dimensional pore structure of TUD-1 is a key contributor

to this achievement It is expected that similar performance improvements will be

realized for other reactions that are commercially practiced at conditions imposing

mass transfer limitations

The intra-reactor reheat concept as practiced in SMART should in principle be

applicable to other strongly endothermic dehydrogenation reactions Applied at

the catalyst level as shown in the CPO example it is speculated that intra-

reactor reheat can be used for in-situ catalyst regeneration during operation

Catalytic distillation is a prime example of what can be achieved by process inten-

sification Although the technology has already been applied commercially for

Table 4 Commercial CD applications

dagger Etherification (MTBE TAME and ETBE)

dagger Aromatics alkylation (EB and cumene)

dagger Benzene removal from reformate

dagger Selective desulfurization

dagger Various selective hydrogenations

Demonstration plant at Tianjin China Front-end CDHydrow for

ethylene plants (2003)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 29

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1454

1455

1456

1457

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1458

1459

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1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1505

1506

1507

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1551

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1552

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Dautzenberg34

Fig

ure

23

C

on

ven

tio

nal

ole

fin

sp

uri

fica

tio

nte

chn

olo

gy

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg30

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1450

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1452

1453

1454

1455

1456

1457

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1458

1459

1460

1461

1462

1463

1464

1465

1466

1467

1468

1469

1470

1471

1472

1473

1474

1475

1476

1477

1478

1479

1480

1481

1482

1483

1484

1485

1486

1487

1488

1489

1490

1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1505

1506

1507

1508

1509

1510

1511

1512

1513

1514

1515

1516

1517

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1544

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1546

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1549

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1551

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1552

1553

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1555

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1558

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1585

1586

1587

1588

1589

1590

1591

1592

1593

1594

1595

1596

1597

1598

Dautzenberg34

Fig

ure

24

F

ron

t-en

dC

DH

yd

row

tech

no

log

yfo

ro

lefi

ns

pu

rifi

cati

on

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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1450

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1452

1453

1454

1455

1456

1457

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 31

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1458

1459

1460

1461

1462

1463

1464

1465

1466

1467

1468

1469

1470

1471

1472

1473

1474

1475

1476

1477

1478

1479

1480

1481

1482

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1484

1485

1486

1487

1488

1489

1490

1491

1492

1493

1494

1495

1496

1497

1498

1499

1500

1501

1502

1503

1504

Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1505

1506

1507

1508

1509

1510

1511

1512

1513

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1546

1547

1548

1549

1550

1551

Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1552

1553

1554

1555

1556

1557

1558

1559

1560

1561

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Dautzenberg34

various processes it is expected that the family will keep growing Tailoring of

existing catalysts may be required to allow operation in the liquid phase at

boiling conditions

The multifunctional reactor examples show that by applying intra-reactor intensi-

fication mature high-volume petrochemical processes can be improved As illus-

trated in the CPO example intra-reactor heat transfer can be applied beneficially

in the development of emerging technologies

To achieve optimum success more multidisciplinary teams are needed to address the

current and future needs of the process industry The teams should contain catalyst syn-

thesis experts as well as knowledgeable reaction engineers Furthermore it is recommend-

able to encourage industryndashuniversity collaborations This can be very synergistic

because the participants can extend and reinforce each otherrsquos efforts taking full advan-

tage of their complementary capabilities

REFERENCES

1 Dautzenberg FM Quality principles for catalyst testing during process development

Combinatorial Catalysis and High Throughput Catalyst Design and Testing Confer-

ence Vilamoura Quarteira (Algarve) Portugal July 19ndash24 1999 NATO Advanced

Study Institute

2 Trubac RE Dautzenberg FM Griffin TA Paikert B Schmidt VR

Overbeek RA Micro-engineered catalyst systems ABBrsquos advancement in struc-

tured catalytic packings Catalysis Today 2001 69 17ndash24

3 Carlborg JA Chang Y-F Murrell LL Trubac RE Overbeek RA

Schmidt VR Yeh CY Schuh L Conversion of Nitrogen Oxides in the Presence

of a Catalyst Supported on a Mesh-like Structure US Patent 6534022 March 18

2003 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

4 First International Conference on Structured Catalysts and Reactors Delft The

Netherlands October 21ndash24 2001

5 Murrell LL Overbeek RA Chang Y-F van der Puil N Yeh CY Method of

Making Molecular Sieves and Novel Molecular Sieve Components US 6350429

2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

6 Dautzenberg FM Angevine PJ Trubac RE Maschmeyer Th Tailoring Indus-

trial Catalyst to Minimize Mass Transfer Limitations 8th International Symposium

Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts Louvain-la-Neuve

Belgium September 9ndash12 2002

7 Dautzenberg FM Mukherjee M Process Intensification Using Multifunctional

Reactors 16th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering

Krakow Poland September 10 2000

8 Beck JS Method for Synthesizing Mesoporous Crystalline Material US Patent

5057296 October 15 1991 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

9 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Synthetic Mesoporous Crys-

talline Material US Patent 5098684 March 24 1992 (assigned to Mobil Oil Corp)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg32

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

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Dautzenberg34

10 Kresge CT Leonowicz ME Roth WJ Vartuli JC Composition of Synthetic

Crystalline Material Its Synthesis US Patent 5102643 April 7 1992 (assigned to

Mobil Oil Corp)

11 Shan Z Maschmeyer Th Jansen JC Inorganic Oxides with Mesoporosity or

Combined Meso- and Microporosity and Process for the Preparation Thereof US

Patent 6358486 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

12 Jansen JC Shan Z Marchese L Zhou W van der Puil N Maschmeyer Th A

New Templating Method for Three-Dimensional Mesopore Networks Chem

Commun 2001 713ndash714

13 Shan Z Gianotti E Jansen JC Peters JA Marchese L Maschmeyer Th One-

Step Synthesis of a Highly Active Mesoporous Titanium-Containing Silica by Using

Bifunctional Templating Chem Eur J 2001 7 (7) 1437ndash1443

14 Shan Z Jansen JC Marchese L Maschmeyer Th Synthesis Characterization

and Catalytic Testing of a 3-D Mesoporous Titanosilica Ti-TUD-1 Micro Meso

Mater 2001 48 (1ndash3) 181ndash187

15 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same US

Patent Application 20020074263 2002 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

16 Shan Z Jansen JC Yeh CY Koegler JH Maschmeyer Th Catalyst Contain-

ing Microporous Zeolite in Mesoporous Support and Method for Making Same WO

03045548 2003-06-05 (assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc)

17 Dautzenberg FM Hydro-and Dehydrogenation of Large Volume Petrochemicals

Paper presented at the 10th Roermond Conference on Catalysis Rolduc-Kerkrade

The Netherlands June 30ndashJuly 5 2002

18 Dautzenberg FM Encouraging Innovation in Catalysis Paper presented at the 3rd

Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis Dalian China October 12ndash15 2003

19 Smith LA Jr Catalytic Distillation Structure US Patent 4443559 April 17 1984

(assigned to Chemical Research amp Licensing Company)

20 Sy A Smith L Chen J Dautzenberg FM Catalytic Distillation Route for

Cumene DeWitt Petrochemical Review Houston Texas March 23 1993

21 Rock K Gilbert GR McGuirk T Catalytic distillation extend its reach Chemical

Engineering 1997 78 78ndash84

22 Hearn D Putman HM Hydrodesulfurization Process Utilizing a Distillation

Column Reactor US Patent 5779883 March 17 1998 (assigned to Catalytic Distil-

lation Technologies)

23 Stanley SJ McCarthy FM Sumner C Gildert GR Olefin Plant Recovery

System Employing Catalytic Distillation US Patent 5679241 May 17 1995

(assigned to ABB Lummus Global Inc and Chemical Research amp Licensing

Company)

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1505

1506

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Catalyst Synthesis and Multifunctional Reactor Concepts 33

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1552

1553

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Dautzenberg34

Author QueriesJOURNAL LCTR

MANUSCRIPT 200036729

AQ Please check the right-hand running head provided is ok

Q1 Please provide street zipcode E-mail id and fax for corresponding author

Q2 Please supply abstract and keywords

Q3 Reference [24] is not present in the list Please add to the list

LCTR36729 LCTR_046_3ndash4 Techset Composition Ltd Salisbury UK 9232004

1552

1553

1554

1555

1556

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Dautzenberg34