Coke Formation on Pt-Sn/Al2O3 Catalyst in Propane Dehydrogenation: Coke Characterization and Kinetic Study

The influences of gas compositions on the rates of coke formation over a Pt-Sn/Al2O3 catalyst are studied. The coke formed on the catalyst is characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis, IR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and elemental analysis. Two kinds of coke are identified from the TPO profiles and assigned to the coke on the metal and the coke on the support, respectively. The coke formed on the metal is softer (containing more hydrogen) than that formed on the support. The rate of coke formation on the metal is weakly dependent on the propylene and hydrogen pressures but increasing with the propane pressure, while the rate of coke formation on the support is increasing with the propane and propylene pressures and decreasing with the hydrogen pressure. Based on the kinetic analysis, a mechanism for the coke formation on the Pt-Sn/Al2O3 catalyst is proposed, and the dimerization of adsorbed C3H6 is identified to be the kinetic relevant step for coke formation on the metal.