Dehydrogenation of light alkanes to mono-olefins

In the past several decades, light alkane dehydrogenation to mono-olefins, especially propane dehydrogenation to propylene has gained widespread attention and much development in the field of research and commercial application. Under suitable conditions, the supported Pt-Sn and CrOx catalysts widely used in industry exhibit satisfactory dehydrogenation activity and selectivity. However, the high cost of Pt and the potential environmental problems of CrOx have driven researchers to improve the coking and sintering resistance of Pt catalysts, and to find new non-noble metal and environment-friendly catalysts. As for the development of the reactor, it should be noted that low operation pressure is beneficial for improving the single-pass conversion, decreasing the amount of unconverted alkane recycled back to the reactor, and reducing the energy consumption of the whole process. Therefore, the research direction of reactor improvement is towards reducing the pressure drop. This review is aimed at introducing the characteristics of the dehydrogenation reaction, the progress made in the development of catalysts and reactors, and a new understanding of reaction mechanism as well as its guiding role in the development of catalyst and reactor.

Automated summary

Researchers are working on improving the catalysts and reactors for light alkane dehydrogenation to mono-olefins to address the high cost of Pt catalysts and potential environmental issues with CrOx, exploring new non-noble metal and environment-friendly catalysts. Additionally, reducing operation pressure can decrease the energy consumption of the entire process.