Regeneration of catalyst for hydrogenation of sugars
AssigneeArcher Daniels Midland Company
InventorChiCheng Ma
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Abstract
A process for regenerating catalysts that have been deactivated or poisoned during hydrogenation of biomass, sugars and polysaccharides is described, in which polymerized species that have agglomerated to catalyst surfaces can be removed by means of washing the catalyst with hot water at subcritical temperatures. A feature of the process can regenerate the catalysts in situ, which allows the process to be adapted for used in continuous throughput reactor systems. Also described is a continuous hydrogenation process that incorporated the present regeneration process.
Claims20
A method of regenerating hydrogenation catalyst activity in-situ, the method comprising:
- a) providing a hydrogenation reactor, said reactor being configured to have a first and a second vessel, said first vessel having a first catalyst and said second vessel having a second catalyst, said first and second catalysts being either the same or a different material;
- and b) rinsing each respective vessel and catalyst with subcritical deionized water of between about 130° C.-250° C. for an extended period.
A method of reducing catalytic contamination from sugars or sugar alcohol hydrogenation, the method comprising:
- applying a deionized aqueous rinse to a skeletal catalyst or sponge-metal catalyst at a subcritical temperature, between about 130° C. and 250° C., when catalytic activity of said catalyst decreases to a predetermined level as a consequence of sulfur or sulfuric contamination.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.