Dehydrogenative activity of catalysts with low palladium content

Catalysts containing as little as 0.5 mass. % Pd are highly active in the dehydrogenation of cyclohexane when Sibunite® or active alumina (for gas dehumidification) are used as catalyst supports. Dehydrogenative activity of the Pd/Al₂O₃ catalyst is further increased upon surface sulfidation and addition of 0.25–0.5 mass. % Re.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khmicheskaya, No. 2, pp. 422–423, February, 1993.     

Effect of the surface area of platinum on the activity of a bifunctional aluminoplatinum catalyst in the synthesis of alkylimidazoles from diamines and carbonyl acids

An investigation has been conducted into the effect of the acid and dehydrogenating functions of an aluminoplatinum catalyst on the synthesis of 2-methylimidazole from ethylenediamine and acetic acid. It has been established that formation of the intermediate 2-methylimidazoline involves the acid Al₂O₃ centers and its rate of formation is greater than the rate of its subsequent dehydrogenation to 2-methylimidazole on the Pt centers. The symbatic nature of the variations in the 2-methylimidazole yield and the surface area of the platinum in the aluminoplatinum catalyst has been demonstrated.N. D. Zelinskii Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117913 Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 1992–1996, September, 1992.     

Effect of metals on the catalytic activity of sulfated zirconia for light naphtha isomerization

We studied on the function of the metal in the sulfated zirconia(SO₄^2–/ZrO₂) catalyst for the isomerization reaction of light paraffins. The addition of Pt to the SO₄^2–/ZrO₂ carrier could keep the high catalytic activity. The improvement in this isomerization activity is because Pt promotes removal of the coke precursor deposited on the catalyst surface. Though this catalytic function was observed in other transition metals, such as Pd, Ru, Ni, Rh and W, Pt exhibited the highest effect among them. It was further found that the Pd/SO₄^2–/ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ catalyst possessed a catalytic function for desulfurization of sulfur-containing light naphtha in addition to the skeletal isomerization. The sulfur tolerance of catalyst depended on the method of adding Pd, and the catalyst prepared by impregnation of the SO₄^2–/ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ with an aqueous solution of Pd exhibited the highest sulfur tolerance.Further, we investigated the improvement in sulfur tolerance of the Pt/SO₄^2–/ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ catalyst by impregnation of Pd. The results of EPMA analysis indicated that this catalyst was a hybrid-type one (Pt/SO₄^2–/ZrO₂–Pd/Al₂O₃) in which Pt/SO₄^2–/ZrO₂ particles and Pd/Al₂O₃ particles adjoined closely. This hybrid catalyst possessed a very high sulfur tolerance to the raw light naphtha that was obtained from the atmospheric distillation apparatus, although this light naphtha contained much sulfur. We assume that such a high sulfur tolerance in the hybrid catalyst is brought about by the isomerization function of Pt/SO₄^2–/ZrO₂ particles and the hydrodesulfurization function of Pd/Al₂O₃ particles. Besides, since the hybrid catalyst also provides high catalytic activity in the isomerization of HDS light naphtha, we suggest that the Pd/Al₂O₃ particles supply atomic hydrogen to the Pt/SO₄^2–/ZrO₂ particles by homolytic dissociation of gaseous hydrogen and also enhance the sulfur tolerance of Pt/SO₄^2–/ZrO₂ particles. Finally, we also propose the most suitable location of Pd and Pt in the metal-supported SO₄^2–/ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ catalyst.     

Effect of Steam in CO2 Reforming of CH4over a Ni/CeO2–ZrO2–Al2O3 Catalyst

CO₂ reforming of CH₄ was carried out with and without steam over a Ni/CeO₂–ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ catalyst. The catalytic performance, amount of carbon deposit and the EXAFS of the Ni K-edge of samples were measured. The results show that when the catalyst is used for CO₂ reforming of CH₄ without the addition of steam, the catalyst gradually deactivates, however, addition of a small amount of steam to the feed gas can significantly inhibits the deactivation, which is due to the great suppression of coke formation on the catalyst during the reaction. The EXAFS result shows that, maybe due to the penetration of more carbon atoms into the Ni lattice, the coordination number of the nearest Ni–Ni of the sample after the reaction without steam reduces more than that of samples after the reaction with a small amount of steam in the feed gas.     

Effect of Transition Metals (Cu, Co and Fe) on the Autothermal Reforming of Methane over Ni/Ce0.2Zr0.1Al0.7Oδ Catalyst

The transition metals (Cu, Co, and Fe) were applied to modify Ni/Ce0.2Zr0.1 Al0.7Oδcatalyst. The effects of transition metals on the catalytic properties of Ni/Ce0.2Zr0.1 Al0.7Oδautothermal reforming of methane were investigated. The Ni-supported catalysts were characterized by XRD, TPR and XPS. Tests in autothermal reforming of methane to hydrogen showed that the addition of transition metals (Cu and Co) significantly increased the activity of catalyst under the conditions of lower reaction temperature, and Ni/Cu0.05Ce0.2Zr0.1Al0.65Oδwas found to have the highest conversion of CH4 among all catalysts in the operation temperatures ranging from 923 K to 1023 K. TPR, XRD and XPS measurements indicated that the cubic phases of CexZr1-xO2 solid solution were formed in the preparation process of catalysts. Strong interaction was found to exist between NiO and CexZr1-xO2 solid solution. The addition of Cu improved the dispersion of NiO, inhibited the formation of NiAl2O4, and thus significantly promoted the activity of the catalyst Ni/Cu0.05Ce0.2Zr0.1Al0.65Oδ.     

Lithium promoted Pt?Sn/Al2O3 catalysts for dehydrogenation ofn-decane: Influence of lithium metal precursors

Four lithium metal precursors (LiNO₃, CH₃COOLi, LiOH, LiCl) have been used as promoters in Pt–Sn/Al₂O₃ catalysts to improve activity, selectivity and stability in a modeln-decane dehydrogenation reaction. Acidity, TPR and TPCO measurements have shown that the precursors affect the acid site distribution in the support, modify the reducibility and dispersity of Pt–Sn active species, coke lay-over patterns, stability and also selectivity for formation of monoolefins in the dehydrogenation ofn-decane.     

Comparative study of coke deposition on catalysts in reactions with and without oxygen

Two types of catalysts, i.e. Pt/γ Al₂O₃ and Cu/Na-ZSM-5, were used to investigate the catalyst activity and amount of coke formation on the spent catalysts. The reactions of particular interest were the hydrocarbon oxidation and the SCR of NO with and without O₂. Propane and propene were used as the hydrocarbon sources. The reaction conditions were as follows: reaction temperature =170–500°C, GHSV=4,000 hr⁻¹, TOS=2 hr, feed composition depending on each reaction, but the composition of gases were fixed as HC=3,000 ppm, NO=1,000 ppm and O₂=2.5%, using He balance. It was found that both the case of Pt/γ Al₂O₃ and the case of Cu/Na-ZSM-5, propene provided higher conversion and coke deposition than propane in the presence or the absence of O₂ and/or NO. For Pt/γ Al₂O₃ catalyst, in case of the absence of oxygen reactions, the propene conversion dropped more rapidly than the propane conversion. Finally the reaction of propene gave a lower percent of hydrocarbon conversion than the reaction of propane. Additionally, propene had a higher percent selectivity of coke formation for the reaction with the absence of oxygen, but propane had a higher percent selectivity of coke formation for the reaction with the presence of oxygen. For Cu/Na-ZSM-5, in the system with absence and presence of oxygen, the addition of oxygen caused a significant change in % coke selectivity. With the presence of NO_x, the percent conversion of both propane and propene decreased and that the % coke selectivity of propane decreased, whereas that of in propene increased.     

Promoting effect of Mg in supported Mo/HBeta–Al2O3 catalyst for cross-metathesis of ethene and butene-2 to propene

Promoting effects of Mg in heterogeneous Mo/HBeta–Al₂O₃ catalyst have been carefully studied for cross-metathesis of ethene and butene-2 to propene. The catalyst shows good stability with Mg content in the range of 1–2 wt%. Such effect may be attributed to the elimination of weak acid sites through introduction of Mg which suppresses the side olefin oligomerization reaction, as evidenced from NH₃-TPD and ¹H MAS NMR results. Addition of more Mg content to 3 wt% may change the state and reducibility of Mo species, as indicated from the UV–vis, UV-Raman and H₂-TPR measurements. The increasing difficulty for the reduction of Mo(VI) species is closely related with the poor performance of 3 wt% Mg–4Mo/HBeta–30% Al₂O₃ catalyst in the metathesis reaction.     

The support and characterization of C60 and MoO3 on Al2O3

A new type of catalyst from supporting C₆₀ on MoO₃ and Al₂O₃ has been prepared. The effect of different order of impregnation and calcination atmosphere on catalyst are investigated by the solution test in toluene, UV-VIS spectroscopy and temperature programmed reduction (TPR). The results show that when the catalyst was prepared by supporting MoO₃ on C₆₀/Al₂O₃ and calcined in N₂, there is a stronger interaction between C₆₀, MoO₃ and Al₂O₃, but when supporting C₆₀ on MoO₃/Al₂O₃, the interaction is relatively weak. We consider that in the former method a new complex, Mo–C₆₀–O–Al, is formed.     

Hydrogen Production by Steam Reforming of Ethanol Over Mesoporous Ni–Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–ZrO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Catalysts

This review paper reports the recent progress concerning the application of nickel–alumina–zirconia based catalysts to the ethanol steam reforming for hydrogen production. Several series of mesoporous nickel–alumina–zirconia based catalysts were prepared by an epoxide-initiated sol–gel method. The first series comprised Ni–Al₂O₃–ZrO₂ xerogel catalysts with diverse Zr/Al molar ratios. Chemical species maintained a well-dispersed state, while catalyst acidity decreased with increasing Zr/Al molar ratio. An optimal amount of Zr (Zr/Al molar ratio of 0.2) was required to achieve the highest hydrogen yield. In the second series, Ni–Al₂O₃–ZrO₂ xerogel catalysts with different Ni content were examined. Reducibility and nickel surface area of the catalysts could be modulated by changing nickel content. Ni–Al₂O₃–ZrO₂ catalyst with 15 wt% of nickel content showed the highest nickel surface area and the best catalytic performance. In the catalysts where copper was introduced as an additive (Cu–Ni–Al₂O₃–ZrO₂), it was found that nickel dispersion, nickel surface area, and ethanol adsorption capacity were enhanced at an appropriate amount of copper introduction, leading to a promising catalytic activity. Ni–Sr–Al₂O₃–ZrO₂ catalysts prepared by changing drying method were tested as well. Textural properties of Ni–Sr–Al₂O₃–ZrO₂ aerogel catalyst produced from supercritical drying were enhanced when compared to those of xerogel catalyst produced from conventional drying. Nickel dispersion and nickel surface area were higher on Ni–Sr–Al₂O₃–ZrO₂ aerogel catalyst, which led to higher hydrogen yield and catalyst stability over Ni–Sr–Al₂O₃–ZrO₂ aerogel catalyst.     

The characterization of modified silica-alumina catalysts active in the synthesis of picolines

The SiO₂–Al₂O₃ catalyst is modified by promoters like Pb, Cr, Cu. The SiO₂–Al₂O₃ catalyst is also modified using two elements by a simultaneous or stepwise impregnation method. The catalysts are characterized by XRD, IR and ESR techniques, and are useful in the synthesis of picolines.IICT Communication No. 3514, decicated to Dr. A.V. Rama Rao on his 60th birthday.     

Recombination of hydrogen and oxygen in the technical gaseous waste of nuclear power plants (I)

The recombination of hydrogen and oxygen in technical gaseous waste of nuclear power plants has been studied. A highly efficient catalyst for reacting H₂ with O₂ to form water was prepared. Various operating conditions and factors affecting the recombination of H₂ and O₂ were tested and the best conditions were determined. Results show that the Pd–Al₂O₃ catalyst prepared had very good characteristics. The recombination rate of H₂ and O₂ was higher than 98.3% and 99.9%, respectively. After recombination, residual concentrations of H₂ and O₂ in waste gas were O₂<3 ppm, H₂<400 ppm. The Pd–Al₂O₃ catalyst and operating conditions determined for gaseous waste processing of nuclear power plants were satisfactory.     

Catalytically Promoted NOx Sorption by ZrO2-Based Oxides

Metal promoted zirconia-based oxide sorbents, such as Pt–ZrO₂/Al₂O₃ for NO _x have been investigated. To clarify the role of the catalyst component, sorption of NO and NO₂ was compared using the samples with and without Pt. The catalytic oxidation of NO to NO₂ and successively to nitrate ions is an important role for the Pt catalyst. The experimental results indicate that a high-temperature calcination is essential to remove residual Cl from Pt–ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ prepared from H₂PtCl₆ in order to provide more active NO _x sorption sites. Of M–ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ samples investigated, ruthenium as well as Pt demonstrated relatively good performance as a catalyst component in the sorbent. The FT-IR spectra after sorption of NO and NO₂ demonstrated a strong band attributed to stored nitrate ions. The Pt catalyst was more resistant to sulfur poisoning than a base metal catalyst. However, the NO _x sorptive capacities of the Pt–ZrO₂/Al₂O₃ sorbents were expected to be deteriorated in dilute SO₂ as far as observed from FT-IR spectra.     

Carbon Dioxide Reforming of Methane over Ni Catalysts Supported on Al2O3 Modified with La2O3, MgO, and CaO

The preparation of synthesis gas from carbon dioxide reforming of methane (CDR) has attracted increasing attention. The present review mainly focuses on CDR to produce synthesis gas over Ni/MO_x/Al₂O₃ (X = La, Mg, Ca) catalysts. From the examination of various supported nickel catalysts, the promotional effects of La₂O₃, MgO, and CaO have been found. The addition of promoters to Al₂O₃-supported nickel catalysts enhances the catalytic activity as well as stability. The catalytic performance is strongly dependent on the loading amount of promoters. For example, the highest CH₄ and CO₂ conversion were obtained when the ratios of metal M to Al were in the range of 0.04–0.06. In the case of Ni/La₂O₃/Al₂O₃ catalyst, the highest CH₄ conversion (96%) and CO₂ conversion (97%) was achieved with the catalyst (La/Al = 0.05 (atom/atom)). For Ni/CaO/Al₂O₃ catalyst, the catalyst with Ca/Al = 0.04 (atom/atom) exhibited the highest CH₄ conversion (91%) and CO₂ conversion (92%) among the catalysts with various CaO content. Also, Ni/MgO/Al₂O₃ catalyst with Mg/Al = 0.06 (atom/atom) showed the highest CH₄ conversion (89%) and CO₂ conversion (90%) among the catalysts with various Mg/Al ratios. Thus it is most likely that the optimal ratios of M to Al for the highest activities of the catalysts are related to the highly dispersed metal species. In addition, the improved catalytic performance of Al₂O₃-supported nickel catalysts promoted with metal oxides is due to the strong interaction between Ni and metal oxide, the stabilization of metal oxide on Al₂O₃ and the basic property of metal oxide to prevent carbon formation.     

6-Nitrohexene-1 Metathesis in the Presence of Rhenium Heterogeneous Catalysts

6-nitrohexene-1 (6-NH-1) undergoes metathesis in the presence of 16 wt.% Re₂O₇/Al₂O₃/R₄M and 3 wt.% Re₂O₇/Al₂O₃-SiO₂/R₄M (where R = methyl, ethyl; M = Sn or Pb) catalysts. The system containing alumina as a support is more active. Tetramethyltin (TMT) and tetraethyllead (TEL) used as co-catalysts, exhibited similar activating effect which was greater than with tetraethyltin (TET). The best results were obtained when the Re:Sn(Pb) and 6-NH-1:Re ratios were equal, respectively, to 1:1 and 10:1. The alumina-silica supported catalysts activity can be enhanced by doping the support with very small amounts of molybdenum ions.     

Catalytic Steam Reforming of Methane: New Data on the Contribution of Homogeneous Radical Reactions in the Gas Phase: II. A Ruthenium Catalyst

The kinetics of methane steam reforming and pyrolysis on Ru/Al₂O₃(T= 650–750°C, = 0.001–0.030 MPa) is studied. The values of the rates and activation energies are compared with the kinetic parameters for nickel catalysts. It was shown that steam reforming can occur on the ruthenium catalyst both heterogeneously and heterogeneously–homogeneously depending on the reaction conditions. Comparative activities of the Ru/Al₂O₃and Ni–Al₂O₃catalysts are discussed under the conditions of purely heterogeneous and heterogeneous–homogeneous steam reforming.     

Two-stage catalytic system of Sn/Al2O3 and Pt/Al2O3for NO reduction by propene in lean conditions

The Pt/Al₂O₃, Sn/Al₂O₃catalysts were prepared by the single sol-gel method. The two-stage Sn/Al₂O₃and Pt/Al₂O₃catalyst in series for NO reduction with propene were investigated. The coexistance of water vapor enhanced the activity at medium temperature of 300-400^oC, and the NO conversion was above 50% at 225 to 500^oC even in the presence of water vapor and SO₂. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Kinetics of catalytic oxidation of methane

A kinetic model for methane oxidation in sulfur dioxidecontaining gaseous mixtures at 640–830 °C with Al₂O₃ as catalyst is suggested.     

The influence of La2O3 and TiO2 on NiO/MgO/α-Al2O3

Summary The effect of La₂O₃ and TiO₂ on product selectivity, methane conversion and coke formation over NiO/MgO/ α -Al₂O₃ catalyst were studied in a simultaneous steam and CO₂ reforming of methane to syngas. La₂O₃ and TiO₂ were added to the catalyst via incipient wetness impregnation and bulk precipitation techniques and catalyst activity was tested in a fixed bed quartz reactor. Results reveal that although the addition of these oxides has no effect on the product selectivity and methane conversion, but can reduce coke formation on the surface of the catalysts as it can enhance the mobility of lattice oxygen anions. The results further show that the catalysts prepared by bulk precipitation technique decrease the coke formation more effectively.