Hydrogenation of Dicyclopentadiene into endo-Tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene in Trickle-Bed Reactor: Experiments and Modeling

Hydrogenation of dicylcopentadiene (DCPD) into endo-tetrahydrodicylcopentadiene (endo-THDCPD), in the presence of a Pd/Al2O3 catalyst, was experimentally and theoretically studied in a quasi-adiabatic trickle-bed reactor (TBR) with a diameter of 24 mm and a length of 850 mm. Effects of several operation parameters, including the liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) (5.86-14.65 h^-1), hydrogen pressure (1.0-2.0 MPa), inlet liquid concentration (0.52-1.35 mol/L), and inlet temperature (319.15-379.15 K) on the TBR performance were investigated systematically in terms of DCPD conversions, THDCPD yields, global hydrogenation rates, and axial temperature profiles. A plug-flow model for TBR incorporating partial wetting, mass and enthalpy balance, and phase equilibia behavior was developed to simulate the experimental results, based on a phenomenological pellet-scale model suggested by Rajashekharam et al. in a previous publication [Chem. Eng. Sci. 1998, 53 (4), 787-805]. The comparisons of experimental and simulated results indicated that the developed model reliably predicted the performance and axial temperature profiles.