PRESSURE HYDROGENATION APPARATUS WARREN H. GOSS AND KENNETH A. KOBE Unive~sityof Washington, Seattle, Washington
T
HE HIGH-PRESSURE hydrogenation of organic pressures. Provision for operation at either constant substances constitutes an important field of volume or pressure made it necessary to provide flexible industrial and organic chemical research. The tubing between the bomb and the hydrogen tank, and design, operation, and maintenance of equipment for also limited the type of agitation to a rocking motion. The design of the bomb is very similar to that of this purpose is a field of chemical engineering work which employs an increasingly large number of chemical Adkins. The bomb parts were machined from chromeengineers. The training of the chemical engineering nickel steel, S. A. E. 3140. The bomb differs slightly student should not only include lectures describing the from that of Adkins in having the bottom of the bomb industrial high-pressure hydrogenation processes but squared so it will fit into a corresponding socket made should also allow the student to carry out some experi- from half-inch steel plate, thus furnishing a holder for ment in which this technic is used. An industrial chemis- the bomb while opening and closing. The assembled try experiment on the hydrogenation of vegetable oils a t bomb, heating element, rocker arms, and insulating atmospheric pressure was not successful with all oils; shell are shown in Figure 1. The copper liners dehowever, hydrogenation in a pressure bomb constructed scribed by Adkiis are not used in this apparatus; howfrom pipe fittings gave good results. This indicated ever, they can easily be added if desired. To provide agitation the bomb was constructed with the need for a better-constructed piece of apparatus. The object of this paper is to show the type of pres- extended arms for rocking. The axis of rotation was sure hydrogenation apparatus that can be constructed passed through the experimentally determined center of as a senior thesis problem in chemical engineering. gravity. The heating element was wound around the I t is patterned after commercial types of apparatus section of the bomb below the rocker arms. The now on the market and its rocking mechanism is seen in Figure 2. The bomb construction represents a rocks through a total angle very considerable financial of 45' at speeds between 20 saving. and 100 cycles per minute. A survey of theliterature showed several designs. Copper gaskets are made Undoubtedly the best is by cutting rings from a 2'/athat of Adkiis ( I ) , repreinch copper pipe mounted senting the two commercial in a lathe. The gaskets can types on the market (2), be easily cut with ridges to fill the grooves in the bomb (3). Several types are described by Ellis (4). Peters head and shell. It is nearly and Stanger (5) also deas satisfactory to cut off thin scribe a useful autoclave. rings without the ridges and A general description of to soften them by heating high-pressure equipment followed by sudden cooling. and technic has been given The copper flows into the by Dilley and Edwards (6). grooves under the applied pressure. THE DESIGN OF THE The entire apparatus is APPARATUS controlled from a remoteThe general specificacontrol switchboard contions for the bomb were a nected by a long five-wire capacity of 500 cc. and an cable. The switchboard, operating pressure of 2000 Figure 3, contains two large pounds per square inch. switches with lamp-bank By not exceeding this presconnections in series, one for sure it is possible to use the heater circuit and the standard wpper tubing and other for the rocker motor. valves designed for higher There are two large D'Ar-
sonval-type panel meters. One is a sensitive Weston meter used either as the thermo-couple meter for temperatures up to 200°C., or, in connection with a
standard fittings was kept in mind. The result was that purchases amounting to only 817.25 were made. The value of the e q u i p m e n t already on hand was estimated a t approximately $32.00. This includes a value of $10.00 each for the two meters. OPERATION OF THE APPARATUS
FIGURE3.-coNmO~ BOARD
The apparatus is operated in the manner described by Adkins (1). The catalyst used is nickel supported on infusorial earth (7) or the Raney catalyst (8). FIGURE 2.-COMPLETED BOMB
AND
AGITAT~OX ASSEMBLY
thermo-shunt, as an ammeter for the heater circuit. The other meter is a less sensitive meter used for indicating temperatures above 200°C. COST OF THE APPARATUS
In the design of the apparatus the utilization ol
SUMMARY
An apparatus has been described which may be constructed by a student as a chemical engineering thesis or advanced design problem. The cost of such an apparatus is nominal in comparison with the commercial types. Operation is very successful over the range of pressures for which the apparatus was designed.
LITERATURE CITED
1) ADKINS.I d . E q . Ckcrn., An&. Ed., 4, 342 (1932). 2) AMERICAN INSTRUMGNT CO., Aminco Hydrogenation Apparatus, BJ1. 1700. (3) BURGESS-PARR CO., Apparatus for Catalytic Hydrogenstion, Bull. E13. (4) ELLIS,"Hydrogenation of organic substances," D. Van Nostrand Co., New York City, 1930.
(5) PETERS AND STANGER, I d Eng. Cham., 20, 74 (1929). "A high-pressure gas-ccmpression (6) DILLEYAND EDWARDS, system." U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Circular 61 (1929). (7) ADKINSAND CRAMER, I.Ant. Chem. SOC.,52, 4349 (1930); COVERT, CONNOR, AND ADKINS, ibid., 54, 1651 (1932). (8) COVERT AND ADKINS,ibid., 54, 4116 (1932); RANEY, U. S. Patents 1,628,190; 1,916,473.
