Font Size:     

The methylcyclohexane-toluene-hydrogen (MTH) system is considered as one of the potential solutions for the successful conception of hydrogen based economy. The success of the MTH system is principally dependent on the dehydrogenation reaction of methylcyclohexane which is highly endothermic and occurs at rather high temperatures. The dehydrogenation reaction requires a suitable catalyst with known kinetics which can be applied in the design, optimization, and scale up of the MTH system for commercial applications. In the present study, the kinetics of methylcyclohexane (MCH) dehydrogenation has been studied by a variety of kinetic models such as power law model, Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson (LHHW) model, and Horiuti-Polanyi (HP) model. The experimental data of MCH dehydrogenation reaction obtained over various Pt-containing Al2O3 catalysts is tested against the kinetic expressions developed on the basis of the above kinetic models. A comprehensive comparison is drawn between these approaches to evaluate the statistical goodness of fit of the data and the kinetic parameters such as activation energy and rate constant. The kinetic rate equation based on single-site LHHW kinetics where the loss of first hydrogen molecule is considered as the rate controlling step is found, both statistically and kinetically, the best-fit kinetic equation in representing the experimental data of each catalyst.