Effect of supports on the kind of in-situ formed ZnOx species and its consequence for non-oxidative propane dehydrogenation

Non-oxidative propane dehydrogenation (PDH) to propene is the basis of various large-scale processes suffering however from high costs or environmental incompatibility of currently applied Pt-or Cr-containing catalysts. Herein, we demonstrate that active and selective catalysts can be obtained from cheap and commercially available Zr-or Ti-based supports and ZnO without producing any liquid or solid waste. Catalytically active species formed in situ under PDH conditions are composed of isolated ZnOx as concluded from X-ray absorption spectroscopic analysis. The kind of support affects the geometry of such species that is probably decisive for catalyst activity. ZnOx on the surface of LaZrOx revealed the highest Zn-related TOF of propene formation. However, the following activity order in terms of space time yield of propene formation (STYC3H6) at 550 degree celsius and about 50% equilibrium propane conversion using a feed with 40 vol% propane was obtained: ZnO//TiZrOx > ZnO//SiZrOx > ZnO//LaZrOx > ZnO//TiO2. The best-performing catalyst showed STYC3H6 of 2 kg kg(cat)(-1) h(-1) and was durable in 8 PDH/regeneration cycles. Temporal analysis of products with submillisecond resolution suggests that H-2 formation should be the rate-determining step in the course of the PDH reaction.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the potential of cheap and commercially available Zr or Ti-based supports and ZnO to serve as active and selective catalysts for propane dehydrogenation (PDH). The catalytically active species formed in situ under PDH conditions consist of isolated ZnOx. ZnOx on the surface of LaZrOx shows the highest rate of propene formation.