Selective continuous flow phenylacetylene hydrogenation over Pd-biogenic calcium carbonate

CaCO3 obtained from Sporosarcina pasteurii isolated from agricultural soils has been employed as catalytic support for Pd that was subsequently loaded on CaCO3 by wet impregnation with a metal loading of 0.5 wt.% using Palladium acetate as precursor. The materials were characterized via nitrogen physisorption measurements, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectronic spectroscopy, TGA Analysis and TEM microscopy. Pd0.5/CaCO3 was able to successfully hydrogenate phenylacetylene into styrene and ethylbenzene as products. Thus, through the proper optimization of the reaction conditions (flow rate, temperature, pressure) it was possible lead the reaction towards the selective production of styrene, a monomer widely used in the polymer industry, from phenylacetylene as starting material in yields up to 65 %. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.