Abstract: Isobutylene is a high demand chemical that contributes to the production of fuel, plastic,
and rubbers. It is produced industrially by different processes, as a byproduct of steam
cracking of naphtha or a fluidized catalytic cracking or by isobutane dehydrogenation.
Catalytic dehydrogenation of isobutane is in increasing importance because of the
growing demand for isobutylene and the better economic advantage compared to other
isobutylene production processes. Isobutane dehydrogenation is an endothermic
reaction and to achieve good yields; it is preferred to work at higher temperatures. At
these temperatures, carbon deposition leads to catalyst deactivation, which requires the
catalyst to be regenerated on a frequent basis. Most of the current processes to produce
isobutylene use either expensive platinum-based metal or toxic chromium-based
catalysis. Hence, there is a demand to search for alternative catalysts that are a relatively
cheap and non-toxic. To achieve this goal, Zirconia-supported Iron catalysts were
prepared. To study the effect of active phase distribution, different iron loadings were
tested for impregnation (3% to 10%) and co-precipitation (10%-20%). The catalysts show
promising results that can achieve an isobutylene selectivity and yield of 91% and 31%,
respectively, with isobutane conversion of 35%.
Date of Award | Jul 2020 |
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Original language | English (US) |
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Supervisor | Jorge Gascon (Supervisor) |
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- Isobutane dehydrogenation
- Iron based catalyst
- Isobutylene production
- Co-precipitation
- Incipient wetness impregnation
- MTBE