Abstract: Hydrogen was produced by the liquid-phase reforming of ethanol and used directly for the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene to aniline. The reaction was remarkably affected by the catalysts and experimental parameters, such as reaction time and reaction temperature. The most favorable activity and selectivity were obtained when Pt/Al2O3 was used as the catalyst at 220 ℃ for 3 h. The highest conversion of nitrobenzene reached 99.3% and the selectivity for aniline was as high as 99.8%. The results demonstrated that it is capable for the hydrogention of nitrobenzene to produce aniline using solvent hydrogen from the liquid-phase reforming of ethanol without the use of additional molecular hydrogen.

Key words: nitrobenzene, hydrogenation, aniline, ethanol, solvent hydrogen