A highly active catalyst derived from CuO particles for selective hydrogenation of acetylene in large excess ethylene.

The removal of acetylene impurities is indispensable in the production of ethylene. An Ag-promoted Pd catalyst is industrially used to remove acetylene impurities by selective hydrogenation. It is highly desirable to replace Pd with non-precious metals. In the present investigation, CuO particles, which are most frequently used as the precursors for Cu-based catalysts, were prepared through the solution-based chemical precipitation method and used to prepare high-performance catalysts for selective hydrogenation of acetylene in large excess ethylene. The non-precious metal catalyst was prepared by treating CuO particles with acetylene-containing gas (0.5 vol% C 2 H 2 /Ar) at 120 °C and subsequent hydrogen reduction at 150 °C. The obtained catalyst was tested in selective hydrogenation of acetylene in a large excess of ethylene (0.72 vol% CH 4 as the internal standard, 0.45 vol% C 2 H 2 , 88.83 vol% C 2 H 4 , 10.00 vol% H 2 ). It exhibited significantly higher activity than the counterpart of Cu metals, achieving 100% conversion of acetylene without ethylene loss at 110 °C and atmospheric pressure. The characterization by means of XRD, XPS, TEM, H 2 -TPR, CO-FTIR, and EPR verified the formation of an interstitial copper carbide (Cu x C), which was responsible for the enhanced hydrogenation activity.