The Kinetics of Quinoline Hydrodenitrogenation through Reaction Intermediate Products
Under petroleum hydrotreating conditions and in the presence of a Co–M–alumina catalyst, quinoline is hydrodenitrogenated through a consecutive first order reaction involving a hydrogénation step followed by two hydrocracking steps. The first step is too fast to measure whereas the second step is the slowest. The ratio of the rate constants of the second to the third step ranges between 0.33 and 0.62 at reaction temperatures between 350 and 400 °C. The second step can be considered responsible for the relatively high activation energy and enthalpy values obtained for the overall reaction. The activation entropy obtained for the overall reaction is −38.2 e.u. mol−1, while the second and the third steps have values of −43.9 and −58.0 e.u. mol−1, respectively. These values indicate the progressive complexity of the steps involved in the reaction sequence as it proceeds towards ammonia production.