The beneficial utilization of natural zeolite in preparation of Cr/clinoptilolite nanocatalyst used in CO2-oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene

The oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane in the presence of CO2 was investigated over a series of Cr-impregnated clinoptilolite catalysts exploring the natural zeolitic support potential. The as-synthesized nanocatalysts were characterized by XRD, BET, FESEM, TEM, ICP, FTIR, EDX and TPD-NH3 techniques. It was found that Cr supported on the acid treated dinoptilolite followed by NH4NO3 treatment nanocatalyst effectively dehydrogenated ethane to ethylene in the presence of CO2 at 700 degrees C, giving 39.3 and 98.8% ethylene yield and selectivity, respectively. A promoting effect of CO2 on the ethane dehydrogenation over the most active catalyst was also observed. (C) 2015 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.