Development of novel process for γ-butyrolactone production

摘要

Effects of pressure, temperature, and catalyst loading on the performance of Pd-Mo-Ni/SiO_2 catalyst were examined in a batch reactor for the production of GBL from maleic anhydride in order to determine the optimum reaction conditions for the maximum GBL yield, with an aim of designing a large scale reactor. The Pd-Mo-Ni/SiO_2 catalyst showed an excellent catalytic performance in the hydrogenation of maleic anhydride into GBL under the mild condition of 250℃ and 70 atm. The Pd-Mo-Ni/SiO_2 catalyst exhibited more than 90% GBL yield. From a series of investigation, we came to conclude that a pilot-scale reactor with capacity of 120 L was necessary to produce 50 kg of GBL per one batch at 250℃ and 70 atm. The pilot-scale reactor is now in successful operation.