Catalytic Conversion of Alkanes to Olefins by Carbon Dioxide Oxidative DehydrogenationA Review

The utilization of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), which is one of the main contributors to the greenhouse effect, has been a topic of global interest, from both fundamental and practical viewpoints. In addition to be the sources of carbon, CO 2 might also be utilized as an oxygen source or oxidant, because it can be considered to be a nontraditional (mild) oxidant and oxygen transfer agent. In this paper, CO 2 as an oxidant for the selective oxidative conversions of alkanes to alkenes has been reviewed, including methane coupling to ethylene, C 2 −C 4 alkanes dehydrogenation to their corresponding olefins, dehydroaromerization of lower hydrocarbons to benzene, and dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene. It has been shown that CO 2 has the potential to offer a promising alternative to oxygen for selective oxidation, whereas the catalyst development is the key to the applications.