Copper-Chromium Catalyst for the Hydrogenation of Furfural to Furfuryl Alcohol in Various Modes
摘要
This work presents a detailed study of an industrial CuCr catalyst used to produce furfuryl alcohol from furfural. The catalyst was tested in a flow-type reactor under two modes: gas-phase and liquid-phase. We determined the optimal process parameters: T = 100°C, PH2(excess) = 0.4 atm for gas-phase and PH2 = 50 atm for liquid-phase, Vcat = 4.00 cm³, dgrain = 1.00–0.80 mm, mixture with quartz 1: 1 (vol.), GHSV = 265 h–1 (LHSV = 1 h–1), furfural: H2 ratio = 1 : 20 (vol.), and conducted long-term tests (50–100 h). The catalyst demonstrated high stability in the liquid-phase process and exhibited excellent reaction parameters ~100% furfural conversion and >99.4% furfuryl alcohol selectivity for 50 h. A comprehensive set of physicochemical methods was used to determine the phase composition of the catalyst, as well as the characteristics of active component formation and the reasons for deactivation during overheating and throughout the process.