Empirical modelling of the vapour-phase dehydrogenation of ethanol using heterogeneous modified clay catalyst

Abstract

The empirical modeling of the vapour – phase dehydrogenation of ethanol using heterogeneous modified clay catalysts was achieved in this work. Kaolinite clay obtained from Ukpor, Anambra State was modified by thermal activation and used in the dehydrogenation reaction. Using 2m factorial design, the effect of the process variables – process duration (x1), catalyst weight (x2), and reaction temperature (x3) on the conversion was determined. Results obtained showed that the dehydrogenation reaction was effectively catalysed by the modified clay catalyst, with the catalyst weight having the greatest positive effect. The negative effect of the reaction temperature indicated the deactivation of the clay catalyst with time. The polynomial model obtained using regression analysis was deemed adequate for the description of the dehydrogenation of ethanol using the modified clay catalyst.