Effect of support on catalytic performance of nickel-based catalysts used for liquid phase hydrogenation of maleic anhydride

Nickel-based catalysts supported on ZrO2, SiO2, and Al2O3 supports, were prepared by incipient impregnation method and evaluated using liquid phase hydrogenation of maleic anhydride. BET, XRD, H2-TPR and TPO-MS were employed to characterize these catalysts. Their catalytic performance varied with supports used. Among all the catalysts, Ni/Al2O3 catalyst exhibited the highest activity for C=C hydrogenation, while there was the lowest activity for C=O hydrogenation. Ni/ZrO2 catalyst had the highest C=O hydrogenation activity, and maleic anhydride conversion and γ-butyrolactone selectivity were 100% and 79.2% respectively under the reaction condition of 483 K, 5 MPa of H2 and 8 h of reaction time. The re-use experiment of catalyst demonstrated that the stability of catalyst in liquid phase hydrogenation of maleic anhydride was better for Ni/ZrO2 and Ni/SiO2 than Ni/Al2O3. Both selectivity and stability of catalysts could be explained by the interaction between succinic anhydride and catalyst. ©, 2015, Chemical Industry Press. All right reserved.