Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane on dynamically rearranging supported chloride catalysts.

Ethane is oxidatively dehydrogenated with a selectivity up to 95% on catalysts comprising a mixed molten alkali chloride supported on a mildly redox-active Dy2O3-doped MgO. The reactive oxyanionic OCl(-) species acting as active sites are catalytically formed by oxidation of Cl(-) at the MgO surface. Under reaction conditions this site is regenerated by O2, dissolving first in the alkali chloride melt, and in the second step dissociating and replenishing the oxygen vacancies on MgO. The oxyanion reactively dehydrogenates ethane at the melt-gas phase interface with nearly ideal selectivity. Thus, the reaction is concluded to proceed via two coupled steps following a Mars-van-Krevelen-mechanism at the solid-liquid and gas-liquid interface. The dissociation of O2 and/or the oxidation of Cl(-) at the melt-solid interface is concluded to have the lowest forward rate constants. The compositions of the oxide core and the molten chloride shell control the catalytic activity via the redox potential of the metal oxide and of the OCl(-). Traces of water may be present in the molten chloride under reaction conditions, but the specific impact of this water is not obvious at present. The spatial separation of oxygen and ethane activation sites and the dynamic rearrangement of the surface anions and cations, preventing the exposure of coordinatively unsaturated cations, are concluded to be the origin of the surprisingly high olefin selectivity.

Catalytic conversion of biomass to monofunctional hydrocarbons and targeted liquid-fuel classes.

It is imperative to develop more efficient processes for conversion of biomass to liquid fuels, such that the cost of these fuels would be competitive with the cost of fuels derived from petroleum. We report a catalytic approach for the conversion of carbohydrates to specific classes of hydrocarbons for use as liquid transportation fuels, based on the integration of several flow reactors operated in a cascade mode, where the effluent from the one reactor is simply fed to the next reactor. This approach can be tuned for production of branched hydrocarbons and aromatic compounds in gasoline, or longer-chain, less highly branched hydrocarbons in diesel and jet fuels. The liquid organic effluent from the first flow reactor contains monofunctional compounds, such as alcohols, ketones, carboxylic acids, and heterocycles, that can also be used to provide reactive intermediates for fine chemicals and polymers markets.