Catalyst elements and methods of making and using
A catalyst element includes a rigid body comprising a plurality of tortuous flow paths, wherein the rigid body comprises a plurality of catalyst particles and a binder, wherein each one of the plurality of catalyst particles comprises a reactive species disposed onto a surface of a support. The catalyst element may be useful as a catalyst in a variety of chemical processes including hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, hydrogenolysis, oxidation, reduction, alkylation, dealkylation, carbonylation, decarbonylation, coupling, isomerization, amination, deamination, or hydrodehalogenation.
1 . A catalyst element comprising:
a rigid body comprising a plurality of tortuous flow paths, wherein the rigid body comprises a plurality of catalyst particles and a binder, wherein each one of the plurality of catalyst particles comprises a reactive species disposed onto a surface of a support.
2 . The catalyst element of claim 1 , wherein the reactive species is in fluid communication with the plurality of tortuous flow paths.
3 . The catalyst element of claim 1 , wherein the reactive species comprises a metal or metal oxide comprising an element of Groups 3-10 and 14 of a Periodic Table of Elements.
4 . The catalyst element of claim 3 , wherein the reactive species comprises a precious metal.
5 . The catalyst element of claim 4 , wherein the reactive species further comprises a non-precious metal.
6 . The catalyst element of claim 5 , wherein a molar ratio of the precious metal to the non-precious metal is about 0.3:1 to about 100:1.
7 . The catalyst element of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of catalyst particles further comprises a promoter, wherein the promoter is a different material or composition than the reactive species.
8 . The catalyst element of claim 7 , wherein the promoter is in fluid communication with the plurality of tortuous flow paths.
9 . The catalyst element of claim 7 , wherein the promoter comprises a composition comprising a Group 3-7 or 14 element, a Rare Earth element, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing elements of the Periodic Table of Elements.
10 . The catalyst element of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of catalyst particles further comprises an ion exchange material, wherein the ion exchange material is different from the support.
11 . The catalyst element of claim 10 , wherein the ion exchange material is in fluid communication with the plurality of tortuous flow paths.
12 . The catalyst element of claim 1 , further comprising a non-catalyst particle.
13 . The catalyst element of claim 1 , wherein the binder comprises a non-crosslinked thermoplastic polymer, crosslinked thermoplastic polymer, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing binder materials.
14 . The catalyst element of claim 1 , wherein the reactive species is in an amount of about 0.01 to about 30 weight percent (wt %), wherein the support is in an amount of about 40 to about 99 wt %, wherein the binder is in an amount of about 0.01 to about 25 wt % binder, wherein the weight percent is based on the total weight of the catalyst element.
15 . The catalyst element of claim 1 , wherein the non-catalyst particle is in an amount of about 0.01 to about 50 wt %.
16 . The catalyst element of claim 1 , wherein the promoter is in an amount of about 0.01 to about 5 wt %.
17 . The catalyst element of claim 1 , wherein the ion exchange material is in an amount of about 0.01 to about 5 wt %.
18 . A method for making a catalyst element comprising:
forming a catalyst particle by disposing a reactive species onto a surface of a support;
mixing a plurality of catalyst particles with a binder; and
processing a mixture of the plurality of catalyst particles and the binder to form the catalyst element, wherein the catalyst element defines a rigid body comprising a plurality of tortuous flow paths.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the reactive species is in fluid communication with the plurality of tortuous flow paths.
20 . The method of claim 18 , wherein one or more catalyst particles further comprises a promoter.
21 . The method of claim 20 , wherein the promoter is in fluid communication with the plurality of tortuous flow paths.
22 . The method of claim 18 , wherein one or more catalyst particles further comprises an ion exchange material.
23 . The method of claim 22 , wherein the ion exchange material is in fluid communication with the plurality of tortuous flow paths.
24 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the mixture further comprises a non-catalyst particle.
25 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising grinding the plurality of catalyst particles into fine powdered particles.
26 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising activating the reactive species.
27 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the processing comprises heat and pressure treating.
28 . A method for catalyzing a chemical process, comprising:
flowing a reaction mixture through a catalyst element, wherein the catalyst element comprises a rigid body comprising a plurality of tortuous flow paths, wherein the rigid body comprises a plurality of catalyst particles and a binder, wherein each one of the plurality of catalyst particles comprises a reactive species disposed onto a surface of a support; and
increasing a reaction rate for the reaction mixture to produce a product.
29 . The method of claim 28 , wherein the chemical process comprises hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, hydrogenolysis, oxidation, reduction, alkylation, dealkylation, carbonylation, decarbonylation, coupling, isomerization, amination, deamination, or hydrodehalogenation.
30 . The method of claim 28 , wherein the chemical process comprises oxidative production of a halogen oxide from an alkali metal halite solution.