Stationary catalysts for the continuous hydrogenation of fats

Hydrogenation characteristics of a wide variety of stationary catalysts were studied with an aim to explore their possible use in the continuous hydrogenation of fats. Refined soybean oil was hydrogenated continuously in a vertical flow‐through reactor over a fixed bed of catalyst. Catalysts investigated were pelleted products containing Raney nickel, reduced nickel, reduced palladium, and copper chromite, as well as granulated alloys of the Raney type, such as Ni‐Al, Cu‐Al, Pd‐Al, and Cu‐Cr‐Al, which were activated with alkali. These catalysts offered a wide choice of activity, selectivity, and ability to form geometrical isomers. Pelleted copper chromite and granular Raney copper‐chromium were found to be highly selective toward the linolenate moiety of soybean oil, whereas pelleted palladium on carrier, as well as granular Raney nickel, Raney copper, and Raney palladium, though moderately selective, exhibited very high activity even at relatively low temperatures. A unique feature of most of the stationary catalysts was the remarkably high rate of hydrogenation. With most catalysts, the iodine value of soybean oil was reduced by 40–60 units within a reaction period of 2–4 min. The hydrogenated fat was practically free of catalyst particles.