Dehydrogenation of propane in the presence of CO2 on Cr(3%)/SiO2 catalyst under supercritical conditions

Enhancing catalytic activity of Cr2O3 in CO2-assisted propane dehydrogenation with effective dopant engineering: a DFT-based microkinetic simulation

Using CO2 as a mild oxidizing agent in propane dehydrogenation (PDH) presents an attractive pathway for the generation of propene while maintaining high selectivity. Cr2O3 is one of the most important catalysts used for the CO2-assisted PDH process. In this study, the doping of Cr2O3 with single atoms such as Ge, Ir, Ni, Sn, Zn, and Zr was used for the PDH process. The introduction of dopants significantly modifies the electronic structure of pristine Cr2O3, leading to substantial alterations in its catalytic capabilities. The dehydrogenation reactions were explored both in the absence and presence of CO2. The addition of CO2 introduces two distinct pathways for PDH. On physisorbed CO2 surfaces, Ge and Ni-Cr2O3 enhance dehydrogenation. On the dissociated surface, the CO* and O* species actively participate in the reaction. All doped surfaces exhibit low energy barriers for dehydrogenation, except undoped Cr2O3 on dissociated CO2 surfaces. The Ni-Cr2O3 surface emerges as the most active surface for dehydrogenation of propane in all scenarios. Additionally, the catalytic surface is re-oxidized through H2 release, and doped surfaces facilitate coke removal via the reverse Boudouard reaction more efficiently than undoped Cr2O3. Microkinetics simulations identify the removal of the first H-atom as the rate-determining step. CO2 reduces the apparent activation energy, directly impacting C3H8 conversion and C3H6 formation. This study offers a decisive description of Cr2O3 modification for the CO2-assisted PDH process.

Light olefin synthesis from a diversity of renewable and fossil feedstocks: state-of the-art and outlook

Light olefins are important feedstocks and platform molecules for the chemical industry. Their synthesis has been a research priority in both academia and industry. There are many different approaches to the synthesis of these compounds, which differ by the choice of raw materials, catalysts and reaction conditions. The goals of this review are to highlight the most recent trends in light olefin synthesis and to perform a comparative analysis of different synthetic routes using several quantitative characteristics: selectivity, productivity, severity of operating conditions, stability, technological maturity and sustainability. Traditionally, on an industrial scale, the cracking of oil fractions has been used to produce light olefins. Methanol-to-olefins, alkane direct or oxidative dehydrogenation technologies have great potential in the short term and have already reached scientific and technological maturities. Major progress should be made in the field of methanol-mediated CO and CO₂ direct hydrogenation to light olefins. The electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to light olefins is a very attractive process in the long run due to the low reaction temperature and possible use of sustainable electricity. The application of modern concepts such as electricity-driven process intensification, looping, CO₂ management and nanoscale catalyst design should lead in the near future to more environmentally friendly, energy efficient and selective large-scale technologies for light olefin synthesis.

A critical evaluation of the catalytic role of CO2 in propane dehydrogenation catalyzed by chromium oxide from a DFT-based microkinetic simulation

Propane dehydrogenation under CO₂ is an important catalytic route to obtain propene with a good balance between selectivity and stability. However, a precise description of the catalytic role of CO₂ in propane dehydrogenation is still absent. In this work, we focus on the elucidation of the role of CO₂ by using DFT-based microkinetic simulation. The influence of CO₂ is categorized as direct and indirect effects. It was found that the chemisorbed CO₂ can directly abstract hydrogen from propane and propyl with a comparable barrier to the counterpart at the surface oxygen site. On the other hand, the dissociation of CO₂ yields active surface species of CO* and O* which are actively involved in the removal of surface hydroxyls. It is found that the TOFs of both propane conversion and propene formation are significantly increased with the presence of CO₂, which is explained by the reduced apparent activation energy. The primary hydrogen abstraction is identified to be the most influential step from the DRC analysis. The main effects of CO₂ are concluded to be removing hydrogen and restoring oxygen vacancies from reaction pathway analysis.

Zn Doping Effect on the Performance of Fe-Based Catalysts for the Hydrogenation of CO2 to Light Hydrocarbons

In this work, we studied the role of zinc in the composition of supported iron-containing catalysts for the hydrogenation of CO₂. Various variants of incipient wetness impregnation of the support were tested to obtain catalyst samples. The best results are shown for samples synthesized by co-impregnation of the support with a common solution of iron and zinc precursors at the same molar ratio of iron and zinc. Catalyst samples were analyzed by various methods: Raman, DRIFT-CO, TPR-H₂, XPS, and UV/Vis. The introduction of zinc leads to the formation of a mixed ZnFe₂O₄ phase. In this case, the activation of the catalyst proceeds through the stage of formation of the metastable wustite phase FeO. The formation of this wustite phase promotes the formation of metallic iron in the composition of the catalyst under the reaction conditions. It is believed that the presence of metallic iron is a necessary step in the formation of iron carbides—that is, active centers for the formation and growth of chain in the hydrocarbons. This leads to an increase in the activity and selectivity of the formation of hydrocarbons in the process of CO₂ hydrogenation.