Multigram Scale-up of the Selective Hydrogenation of alpha-Pinene with Ruthenium Nanoparticles in Water

Marion Duval (1, 2) , Sebastien Navarre (2) , Gilles Sagorin (2) , Audrey Denicourt-Nowicki (1) , Alain Roucoux (1)

1 ISCR - Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes
2 Dérivés Résiniques et Terpéniques

This paper presents the successful use of ruthenium nanoparticles, stabilized in water by ammonium surfactants, in the selective hydrogenation of a-pinene and the first industrially reported scale-up of this catalyst on a multigram-scale. After designing the nanocatalyst at the lab scale, operational parameters (substrate/metal ratio, pressure, and temperature) were identified and optimized in the scale-up. The alpha-pinene hydrogenation process was operated with a 200 g batch, under 30 bar H-2 and at 110 degrees C, with a complete conversion and a selectivity of 98% into cis-pinane within 4 h. The catalyst was easily recycled through a liquid-liquid biphasic approach for 5 reaction cycles to achieve a total turnover number (TTON) of 14000.

Keywords: Ruthenium; Nanoparticles; Hydrogenation; alpha-Pinene; Water; Scale-up

Domains: Chemical Sciences

Marion Duval, Sebastien Navarre, Gilles Sagorin, Audrey Denicourt-Nowicki, Alain Roucoux. Multigram Scale-up of the Selective Hydrogenation of alpha-Pinene with Ruthenium Nanoparticles in Water. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2020, 8 (15), pp.5985-5993. ⟨10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c00650⟩. ⟨hal-02797046⟩