Abstract:

Solvent oil, encompassing a group of important products from petroleum that are commonly used in the extraction
of edible oils, was hydrogenated by nickel-aluminum catalyst in a supercritical CO2 reactor, and the reaction conditions were
optimized using response surface methodology to maximize the removal efficiency of benzene hydrocarbons. Hydrogenation
at 78 ℃ and 10.2 MPa for 52 min with stirring at 200 r/min using 4% of the catalyst proved optimal. The content of
benzene hydrocarbons in the hydrogenated product was below 100 μg/g. In addition to effectively removing the benzene
hydrocarbons in solvent oil, the supercritical CO2-assisted hydrogenation using nickel-aluminum catalyst was energy saving
in comparison with the conventional method, broadening its range of application.

Key words: supercritical CO2, nickel-aluminum catalyst, hydrogenation, energy saving