Unraveling the mechanism of catalytic reactions through combined kinetic and thermodynamic analyses: Application to the condensation of ethanol

作者：Meunier Frederic C^*; Scalbert Julien; Thibault Starzyk Frederic

来源：Comptes Rendus Chimie, 2015, 18(3): 345-350.

DOI：10.1016/j.crci.2014.07.002

• Mechanism
• Thermodynamics
• Ethanol
• Guerbet alcohols

The combination of kinetic and thermodynamic analyses can provide an in-depth knowledge of the crucial steps of catalyzed reactions. Earlier examples are recalled to stress how a reaction mechanism can be supported or rejected based on trivial reactant and product concentration analyses. The method is then applied to the important reaction of alcohol condensation, the so-called Guerbet reaction, which enables converting ethanol, a renewable feedstock, into higher alcohols. Important conclusions regarding the design of ethanol condensation processes can be drawn, as the main reaction mechanism occurring at high temperatures (ca. 350-420 degrees C) appears to be different from that proposed at low temperatures (< 250 degrees C). In the former case, the pathway involving acetaldehyde is negligible, and therefore a multi-step process based on ethanol dehydrogenation followed by acetaldehyde self-aldolization would be irrelevant.

• 出版日期2015-3