Immobile silica fibre catalyst in liquid-phase hydrogenation

A new knitted silica fibre catalyst was introduced to liquid-phase hydrogenation of organic compounds. The fibre catalyst combined the advantages of catalyst slurries and large catalyst particles: diffusional limitations are minimized and the catalyst is immobile. Nickel impregnated silica fibres were used in the hydrogenation of citral to citronellal and citronellol. The catalyst performance was competitive with a conventional crushed nickel catalyst.