Composition effect of metal species in (Ni, Fe, Co)-Bi-O/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst on oxidative dehydrogenation of n-butane to butadiene

The effect of metal oxide species in (Ni, Fe and/or Co) oxide-Bi2O3 over gamma-alumina support was investigated for n-butane oxidative dehydrogenation. Partial substitution of Ni up to 50% by Fe improved butadiene selectivity while same substitution with Co increased n-butane conversion. The ternary Ni-Fe-Co ksystem (10 wt% Ni-5 wt% Fe-5 wt% Co-30 wt% Bi-O/gamma-Al2O3) showed the highest butadiene selectivity of 46.3% at n-butane conversion of 30%. The acid-base sites preferably adjusted by ternary main metal combination in hierarchical cohabitation of metal (Ni, Fe and Co) oxide, Bi2O3 and gamma Al2O3 cooperate to accelerate butadiene selectivity at both 1st and 2nd step dehydrogenations due to an increased H-2 abstraction and 1-butene intermediate adsorption. (C) 2016 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.