Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2026
11:28
Biomass Conversion to Produce Hydrocarbon Liquid Fuel Via Hot-vapor Filtered Fast Pyrolysis and Catalytic Hydrotreating
Published on: December 25, 2016
A Two-Phase Hydrogenation Membrane for Contaminants Reduction at High Hydrogen Reagent Utilization Efficiency
Guoqiang Zhao1,2, Ji Yang3, Tian Liu4,5
1Key Laboratory of Lake and Watershed Science for Water Security, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China.
Environmental Science & Technology
|October 3, 2024
Summary
A new membrane reactor (Pd/SiC-MR) improves heterogeneous hydrogenation for water purification. This device enhances hydrogen use and pollutant removal efficiency without complex catalyst design.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Chemistry
- Catalysis
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Heterogeneous hydrogenation is a key technology for removing water pollutants.
- Current methods often face limitations in catalyst design and hydrogen utilization.
- Improving mass transfer and reagent efficiency is crucial for advancing this process.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel two-phase flow-through membrane reaction device (Pd/SiC-MR) for enhanced heterogeneous hydrogenation.
- To improve both mass transfer and hydrogen reagent utilization in water pollutant removal.
- To demonstrate efficient pollutant removal beyond the limitations of traditional reactor designs.
Main Methods:
- Construction of a two-phase flow-through membrane reaction device utilizing Palladium on Silicon Carbide (Pd/SiC-MR).
- Evaluation of the device's performance in the heterogeneous hydrogenation of water pollutants.
- Comparison of hydrogen reagent utilization with classical slurry and fixed-bed reactors.
Main Results:
- The Pd/SiC-MR achieved rapid and exclusive hydrogenation (>99%) of carbon-chlorine bonds in organohalogens within approximately 0.35 seconds at a high water flux of 220 L/m²/h.
- Demonstrated a hydrogen reagent utilization of 31.4%, which is 1-3 orders of magnitude higher than conventional reactors.
- Attributed high performance to the optimized proximity of reactants within the membrane pores, enhancing molecular collision frequency.
Conclusions:
- The developed two-phase Pd/SiC-MR system offers a significant advancement in heterogeneous hydrogenation for water purification.
- This approach enhances hydrogen utilization and pollutant removal efficiency by optimizing operating conditions, circumventing complex material design challenges.
- The study presents a new strategy for efficient water treatment through improved reactor engineering.
Related Concept Videos
01:18Detergent Purification of Membrane Proteins
Detergents are used to purify the integral proteins of the membrane. The hydrophobic portion of the detergent can replace membrane phospholipids while solubilizing the membrane proteins. When detergent monomers reach a specific concentration in a solution called critical micelle concentration (CMC), they form micelles. Above CMC, the concentration of the detergent monomers remains in equilibrium with the micelle. The number of detergent monomers present in the CMC varies for each detergent, and...
02:36Oxymercuration-Reduction of Alkenes
Oxymercuration–reduction of alkenes is one of the major reactions converting alkenes to alcohols. It involves the hydration of alkenes with mercuric acetate in a mixture of tetrahydrofuran and water, forming an organomercury adduct. This is followed by a demercuration step in which the adduct is reduced to an alcohol using sodium borohydride.
02:13Reduction of Alkenes: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Alkenes undergo reduction by the addition of molecular hydrogen to give alkanes. Because the process generally occurs in the presence of a transition-metal catalyst, the reaction is called catalytic hydrogenation.
Metals like palladium, platinum, and nickel are commonly used in their solid forms — fine powder on an inert surface. As these catalysts remain insoluble in the reaction mixture, they are referred to as heterogeneous catalysts.
The hydrogenation process takes place on the surface of...
Metals like palladium, platinum, and nickel are commonly used in their solid forms — fine powder on an inert surface. As these catalysts remain insoluble in the reaction mixture, they are referred to as heterogeneous catalysts.
The hydrogenation process takes place on the surface of...
02:17Reduction of Alkenes: Asymmetric Catalytic Hydrogenation
Catalytic hydrogenation of alkenes is a transition-metal catalyzed reduction of the double bond using molecular hydrogen to give alkanes. The mode of hydrogen addition follows syn stereochemistry.
The metal catalyst used can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. When hydrogenation of an alkene generates a chiral center, a pair of enantiomeric products is expected to form. However, an enantiomeric excess of one of the products can be facilitated using an enantioselective reaction or an...
The metal catalyst used can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. When hydrogenation of an alkene generates a chiral center, a pair of enantiomeric products is expected to form. However, an enantiomeric excess of one of the products can be facilitated using an enantioselective reaction or an...
02:24Reduction of Alkynes to cis-Alkenes: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Introduction
Like alkenes, alkynes can be reduced to alkanes in the presence of transition metal catalysts such as Pt, Pd, or Ni. The reaction involves two sequential syn additions of hydrogen via a cis-alkene intermediate.
Like alkenes, alkynes can be reduced to alkanes in the presence of transition metal catalysts such as Pt, Pd, or Ni. The reaction involves two sequential syn additions of hydrogen via a cis-alkene intermediate.
01:28Reduction of Benzene to Cyclohexane: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Unlike the easy catalytic hydrogenation of an alkene double bond, hydrogenation of a benzene double bond under similar reaction conditions does not take place easily. For example, in the reduction of stilbene, the benzene ring remains unaffected while the alkene bond gets reduced. Hydrogenation of an alkene double bond is exothermic and a favorable process. In contrast, to hydrogenate the first unsaturated bond of benzene, an energy input is needed; that is, the process is endothermic. This is...