Improving oxidative dehydrogenation of 1-butene to 1,3-butadiene on Al2O3 by Fe2O3 using CO2 as soft oxidant

The gradually increasing demand on 1,3-butadiene (BD) requires alternative production routes. Catalytic oxidative dehydrogenation of 1-butene to BD using CO2 as soft oxidant was proved as a potential process and thus systematically studied over Fe2O3/Al2O3 catalysts. It was found that the loaded Fe2O3 promotes oxygen mobility and modifies the surface acidity of Al2O3, leading to a higher 1-butene conversion and BD selectivity; the highest ones were obtained on 20 wt.% Fe2O3/Al2O3 at 600 degrees C. The in situ Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy studies revealed that CO2 is essential to promote the activation of 1-butene on the Fe2O3 catalysts and thus BD production. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.