Internally Funded Projects
Effect of mesoporous silica support on selective oxidative dehydrogenation of n-butane to butadiene
Butadiene is a petrochemical mainly used in the production of polybutadiene rubber (PBR) and styrenebutadiene rubber (SBR), which are main ingredients in many tires and plastic industries. With the rapid growth of the automotive industry the world and local demand for butadiene is increasing annually. Catalytic oxidative dehydrogenation of normal butane is an exothermic reaction that requires low operational energy costs compared to conventional steam cracking. The redox environment of the reaction increases the catalyst lifetime by reducing coke formation, and forms stable water as a by-product along with butadiene that overcomes the thermodynamic limitations. Our previous studies showed that Ni-Bi-O/Al2O3 catalysts showed high selectivity and conversion of n-butane to butadiene. The high catalytic performance was attributed to the synergistic effect of reducibility, optimum basicity/acidity ratio, and an enhanced metal dispersion on the mesoporous -Al2O3 support. We believe that activity, stability and selectivity of the catalyst can be further enhanced by introducing a complex support system that can enhance these synergistic effects. Therefore, the objective of this project is to study the effect of different catalyst support systems on the performance of Ni-Bi-O/ support catalyst in selective oxidative dehydrogenation of n-butane to butadiene.