Selective conversion of syngas to propane over ZnCrOx-SSZ-39 OX-ZEO catalysts

Oxide-Zeolite (OX-ZEO) bifunctional catalyst design concept has been exemplified in several processes to direct conversion syngas to value-added chemicals and fuels such as mixed light olefins, ethylene, aromatics and gasoline. Herein we demonstrate that the product can be steered toward liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) with a selectivity up to 89% in hydrocarbons especially propane selectivity reaching 80% at CO conversion of 63% using ZnCrOx-H-SSZ-39 catalyst. Interestingly, the quantity of the acid sites of SSZ-39 does not influence obviously the hydrocarbon distribution but the strength is crucial for selective formation of propane. This finding provides an alternative route of LPG synthesis from a variety of carbon resources via syngas. (C) 2019 Science Press and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press. All rights reserved.