Effect of Fe, Co and Mo Additives on Catalytic Activity of a Titania-Supported Zinc Oxide in Propane Dehydrogenation

Metal oxide catalysts, which can compete with commercial platinum and chromium catalysts for nonoxidative propane dehydrogenation (PDH), are of significant practical and scientific interest. In this study, the catalytic activity of bulk zinc oxide promoted with La, Y, V, Fe, Co, Ni, W, Mo, Cu, Ce, Mn, In and Sn was screened in PDH, and this allowed selection of Fe, Co, and Mo as the most promising additives. Subsequent screening of the catalytic performance of a titania-supported zinc oxide promoted by the selected elements indicated that Mo increased the short-term catalytic activity the most, while Fe and Co provided higher catalyst stability. The catalysts were characterized by low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy. PDH reaction, catalyzed by Mo–Zn/TiO2 at 600°C and tested in fixed-bed flow-type reactor at a gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 7500 mL h−1 g{₂₀ₓ}^{ - 1} (propane/N2 = 1/10), afforded up to 29% propane conversion with 95% propylene selectivity.