Hydrogen Storage in a Recyclable Organic Hydride: Kinetic Modeling of Methylcyclohexane Dehydrogenation over 1.0 wt% Pt/-Al ₂O ₃

The methylcyclohexane-toluene-hydrogen system is a potential solution for the implementation of a successful hydrogen economy. The dehydrogenation reaction, the backbone of the methylcyclohexane-toluene-hydrogen system, is studied over 1.0 wt% Pt/-Al ₂O ₃. Experiments were performed in a 1.02-cm internal diameter fixed-bed reactor. The effects of feed composition, temperature, space velocity, and pressure on conversion of methylcyclohexane were studied. An enhancement in the rate is observed with the addition of hydrogen in the feed. Both the power law kinetics and Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson kinetics were employed to best fit the experimental data. Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson kinetics based on single-site surface reaction kinetics were found to be appropriate to the experimental data.