Equilibrio de fases

J. of Supercritical Fluids 31 (2004) 111–121

Phase equilibrium data on binary and ternary mixtures of methyl palmitate, hydrogen and propane
L.J. Rovetto a , S.B. Bottini a,∗ , C.J. Peters b b PLAPIQUI, Universidad Nacional del Sur-CONICET, CC 717, 8000 Bah´a Blanca, Argentina ı Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Molecular Thermodynamics, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 136, 2628 BL Delft, The Netherlands Received 26 August 2003; accepted 27 October 2003

a

Abstract The hydrogenolysis of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) to obtain fatty alcohols, is a catalytic, multiphase reaction. Reaction rates can be greatly increased by using a supercritical solvent to bring the reactive mixture into a single homogeneous phase. Knowledge of the corresponding phase equilibria is a prerequisite in order to find the homogeneous region and to determine the most favorable conditions for the hydrogenation process. This paper reports experimental phase equilibrium data on binary and ternary mixtures of methyl palmitate, hydrogen and propane. A temperature region between 360 and 450 K, and pressures up to 15 MPa were covered. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Supercritical hydrogenolysis; Phase equilibria; Methyl palmitate; Hydrogen; Propane

1. Introduction Fatty alcohols (FOH) are normally produced by hydrogenolysis of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), in a catalytic multiphase reaction. The yield of FOH and the reaction rate depend of the hydrogen pressure in the reactor [1]. On an industrial scale, the high-pressure catalytic hydrogenation is carried out in a trickle-bed or a slurry-phase reactor. A copper-based catalyst is commonly used and temperatures ranging from 523 up to 573 K and pressures between 20 and 30 MPa are the normal operating conditions [2]. A
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: [phone]; fax: [phone]. E-mail address: [e-mail] (S.B. Bottini).

large excess of hydrogen (20–100 mol H2 per mol