Solid superacid catalysis: n-Butane conversion catalyzed by Fe- and Mn-promoted sulfated zirconia
- Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)
Environmental concerns are leading to the replacement of aromatic hydrocarbons in gasoline by high-octane-number branched paraffins and oxygenated compounds such as methyl t-butyl ether. The ether is produced from methanol and isobutylene, and the latter can be formed from n-butane by isomerization followed by dehydrogenation. Paraffin isomerization reactions are catalyzed by very strong acids such as aluminum chloride supported on alumina. The aluminum chloride-containing catalysts are corrosive, and their disposal is expensive. Alternatively, hydroisomerization is catalyzed by zeolite-supported metals at high temperatures, but high temperatures do not favor branched products at equilibrium. Thus there is a need for improved catalysts and processes for the isomerization of n-butane and other straight-chain paraffins. Consequently, researchers have sought for solid acids that are noncorrosive and active enough to catalyze isomerization of paraffins at low temperatures. For example, sulfated zirconia catalyzes isomerization of n- butane at temperatures as low as 25{degrees}C. The addition of iron and manganese promoters has been reported to increase the activity of sulfated zirconia for n-butane isomerization by three orders of magnitude. Although the high activity of this catalyst is now established, the reaction network is not known, and the mechanism has not been investigated.
- OSTI ID:
- 254869
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-940813--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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