(483d) Strategies for Improved Thermal Stability and Facile Regeneration of Alkane Dehydrogenation Catalysts

One of Bipin Vora’s most recognized contributions [1] is the development of a light paraffin dehydrogenation process, named Oleflex^TM. This process was first commercialized for propylene production in 1990. UOP Honeywell has licensed 80 units for propane and isobutane dehydrogenation for the production of propylene and isobutene and accounts for 75 % of the worldwide propane catalytic dehydrogenation capacity added in the last 10 yrs. Bipin Vora’s contributions to Oleflex are documented in 25 US patents and numerous publications. He made key inventions and conducted pioneering research that is the cornerstone of the current and future generations of UOP Oleflex technology.

Activating a C-H bond and converting an alkane selectively to alkene is a challenging reaction which is carried out at high temperatures due to thermodynamic limitations. During the reaction, the olefins that are formed can react further to undesired products involving hydrogenolysis and also result in coke deposits that can lead to catalyst deactivation. The high temperatures also cause sintering of the active phase and loss of activity. In industrial practice, the catalysts are regenerated using a controlled amount of oxygen and in the presence of halides. At the NSF Engineering Research Center CISTAR [2], we are exploring process technologies that could be applied for the processing of natural gas liquids closer to the well head. In the context of distributed processing, alternate approaches for regeneration need to be explored. For instance, the use of air instead of diluted oxygen for regeneration and avoiding the need for added halides. Prolonging the lifetime of these catalysts would also be beneficial for distributed processing. Here, we demonstrate that the choice of support and the composition of the active phase may allow improved thermal durability and facile regeneration of alkane dehydrogenation catalysts [3].

[1] Vora, B.V. Development of dehydrogenation catalyst and processes; Topics in Catalysis, 2012, 55 pp1297-1308.

[2] NSF Engineering Research Center, Center for Innovative and Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources (CISTAR), www.cistar.us

[2] Alcala, R., Dean, D.P., Chavan, I., Chang, C.-W., Burnside, B., Pham, H.N., Peterson, E., Miller, J.T., and Datye, A.K., Strategies for regeneration of Pt-alloy catalysts supported on silica for propane dehydrogenation. Applied Catalysis A: General, 2023. 658: p. 119157.