Synthesis of succinic acid from hydrogenation of maleic anhydride

Abstract

In this study, the synthesis of succinic acid from hydrogenation of maleic anhydride over Pd/C were performed in aqueous solution at various reaction conditions. We confirmed that the distribution of product was different according to process parameters. When increasing the reaction pressure and agitation speed, the by-product decreased and the purity of succinic acid increased. From the result, we may conclude that the reaction pressure and agitation speed are important factors for promoting the mass transfer rate of gas-liquid interface by increasing gas-liquid solubility in liquid hydrogenation. When the reaction pressure increased from 5 bar to 10 bar, the reaction rate increased 2.14 times. When the agitation speed increased from 300 rpm to 700 rpm, the reaction rate increased 2.75 times.