Ethylene selectivity variation in acetylene hydrogenation reactor with the hydrogen/acetylene ratio at the reactor inlet

Variation in the selectivity of ethylene produced by acetylene hydrogenation in an integral reactor was analyzed as a function of the hydrogen/acetylene ratio in the reaction stream at the reactor inlet. The analyses were made for two sample catalysts, which showed different dependence of the ethylene selectivity on the reactant composition. Even a small mismatch between the hydrogen/acetylene ratio at the reactor inlet and the ratio for converted reactants caused a large change in the ethylene selectivity along the reactor position, particularly when the conversion was high. The results of this study indicate two important factors to be considered in the design and operation of acetylene hydrogenation process: the hydrogen/acetylene ratio in the reactor inlet should be controlled close to the ratio for converted reactants; and catalysts showing high ethylene selectivity over a wide range of the hydrogen/ acetylene ratio are required for the design of a highly selective hydrogenation process.