Kinetic modeling of pure hydrogen production from decalin

We investigate the dehydrogenation of decalin for the production of pure hydrogen for fuel cell applications. Supported Pt catalysts can achieve about 98% conversion with > 99.9% selectivity for the dehydrogenation reaction. Cracking reactions occur only at high temperature. The partially dehydrogenated product, tetralin, was formed with a molar selectivity < 6%, depending on the operating conditions. We investigated the kinetics of the dehydrogenation of decalin in a fixed-bed tubular reactor at 275-345 degrees C and atmospheric pressure. A Hougen-Watson-type kinetic model accounted for the dehydrogenation of cis- and trans-decalin as well as the isomerization between the two isomers, the formation of the intermediate tetralin and the final product, naphthalene. The rigorous discrimination between rival models led to parameter values that are statistically significant and satisfied the physicochemical criteria. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.