Abstract
Unsteady operation is one of the process intensification methods applied to heterogeneous catalytic reactions. Periodic temperature cycling was investigated for 2-propanol (isopropyl alcohol; IPA) dehydrogenation using a microreactor with an anodized aluminum-supported platinum catalyst. A parametric study of the periodic temperature cycling was conducted experimentally and the reactivity under periodic temperature cycling was compared with the reactivity under steady-state operation. A new variable was introduced to evaluate the reactivity improvement under unsteady operation. It was found that a higher cycling temperature difference improved the reactivity. There was an optimum temperature range of around 140–150°C for periodic temperature cycling. It was found that a shorter cycling time was not necessary for reactivity improvement. The IPA adsorption rate and the rate of temperature change are important factors in periodic temperature cycling conditions.
