Hydrogenation of 3‐hydroxypropanal in trickle beds — experimental and modelling

Abstract Hydrogenation of 10% aqueous solution of 3‐hydroxypropanal (HPA) was adiabatically carried out over cylindrical Ni/SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 ‐catalyst pellets (∅︁ 0.8 + 5 mm) in a trickle bed (∅︁ 76 × 5200 mm) at 2.6 to 8.0 MPa. The concentration and temperature profiles in the trickle‐bed were measured at different flow rates of liquid. A mathematical model was developed under consideration of heat transfer, interphase mass transfer, intraparticle diffusion and deactivation of catalyst pellets at partial wetting with different wetting geometries. The model fits the measured data satisfactorily when its kinetics of deactivation is modified by a factor determined by regression of data measured in the trickle bed.