Studying the Three-Phase Hydrogenation of Nitrobenzene to Aniline in the Presense of a Ruthenium Catalyst

The catalytic hydrogenation of nitrobenzene (NB) is an important technological stage in the production of aniline (AN). The catalytic behavior of hypercrosslinked polystyrene based ruthenium catalyst 3%Ru/MN270 in the three-phase hydrogenation of NB to AN is considered in this work. The following parameters are varied: 0.12 to 0.24 mol/L of NB; 1.11 × 10−4 to 11.12 × 10−4 mol/L of catalyst; temperatures of 160 to 190°C; and partial hydrogen pressures of 0.113 to 1.013 MPa. The optimum process parameters are determined to ensure 98% selectivity toward aniline with 97% conversion of nitrobenzene.