Date of Award

6-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Chemical Engineering (MChE)

Department

Chemical Engineering

First Advisor

Greg Neumann

Second Advisor

Adam Notle

Third Advisor

Irene Reizman

Abstract

The primary goals of this research were to develop an efficient standard operating procedure for undergraduate students and researchers performing reactions within a packed bed reactor and to determine the optimal operating conditions for phenethylamine formation from mandelonitrile hydrogenation. With the current laboratory packed bed reactor system, undergraduates can conduct gas-liquid phase reactions at a maximum temperature of 95℃ and a maximum pressure of 100 psi. The versatile system setup can be modified for unit operations laboratory instruction or future researchers analyzing heterogeneous catalysis reactions. The developed standard operating procedure provides detailed instructions on packing the reactor with a solid catalyst, activating the catalyst, operating the high-pressure liquid syringe pump, reaction moderating, and sample collection. Primary amines serve as a versatile intermediate in a range of industrial processes. As a result of their importance, many synthesis methods are used to form the desired compound. Hydrogenation of a nitrile is one of the common reaction pathways to produce a high concentration of a given primary amine. The process outlined in this paper demonstrates a method for the synthesis of phenethylamine, a primary amine, from the hydrogenation of mandelonitrile using a carbon-supported palladium catalyst. Reactant conversion and weighted hourly space velocity analysis were performed to determine the optimal operating conditions. Reactor feed flow rates of 0.1, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3, 0.35, 0.375, and 0.4 mL/min and temperatures of 40℃ and 70℃ were studied. The formation of phenethylamine was confirmed using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography, with the highest conversions of mandelonitrile observed at flow rates of 0.2 and 0.3 mL/min.

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