Experimental and DFT studies of the conversion of ethanol and acetic acid on PtSn-based catalysts.

Reaction kinetics studies were conducted for the conversions of ethanol and acetic acid over silica-supported Pt and Pt/Sn catalysts at temperatures from 500 to 600 K. Addition of Sn to Pt catalysts inhibits the decomposition of ethanol to CO, CH4, and C2H6, such that PtSn-based catalysts are active for dehydrogenation of ethanol to acetaldehyde. Furthermore, PtSn-based catalysts are selective for the conversion of acetic acid to ethanol, acetaldehyde, and ethyl acetate, whereas Pt catalysts lead mainly to decomposition products such as CH4 and CO.

Building process knowledge using inline spectroscopy, reaction calorimetry and reaction modeling--the integrated approach.

For over two decades, reaction engineering tools and techniques such as reaction calorimetry, inline spectroscopy and, to a more limited extent, reaction modeling, have been employed within the pharmaceutical industry to ensure safe and robust scale-up of organic reactions. Although each of these techniques has had a significant impact on the landscape of process development, an effective integrated approach is now being realized that combines calorimetry and spectroscopy with predictive modeling tools. This paper reviews some recent advances in the use of these reaction engineering tools in process development within the pharmaceutical industry and discusses their potential impact on the effective application of the integrated approach.