The feasibility of n-butane partial oxidation to maleic anhydride (MA) over vanadium phosphorus
oxide catalysts in an electrochemical membrane reactor in which an oxygen-ion-conducting
electrolyte was used as the membrane was studied. Butane oxidation and oxygen separation
were carried out simultaneously on the opposite surfaces of the membrane, and the oxygen flux
transferred across the membrane was controlled by the external current between the two
electrodes. At 751 K and with a current of 40 mA, the conversion of butane was 15−16%, and
the selectivity to MA was about 39%. The selectivity and yield of MA increased with increasing
applied current. The optimal reaction temperature was 750 ± 5 K, as a compromise among the
ionic conductivity of the membrane, the polarization resistances of the electrodes, and the
selectivity and the yield of MA.
The feasibility of the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene with alumina-supported vanadium
oxide catalyst (VO
x
/γ-Al2O3) in an electrochemical packed-bed membrane reactor was investigated at
temperatures between 500 and 620 °C with molar ratios of oxygen to ethane of 0.06−3.10. An oxygen-ion-conducting yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) membrane was employed in a reactor of Au|YSZ|Pt, and the
oxygen flux transferred across the membrane was controlled over the faradic coupling of oxygen-ion conduction
and the external current between the electrodes. The oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane with electrochemically
supplied oxygen in the membrane reactor was compared to that obtained with gaseous dioxygen in a
conventional packed-bed reactor. The selectivity to ethylene was found to decrease as a function of supplied
oxygen in both investigated operating modes. For all investigated oxygen/ethane molar ratios, the selectivity
ratio, S
CO
2
/S
CO, was found to be clearly higher in the electrochemical than in the packed-bed reactor mode.
The electrochemical oxygen supply significantly promoted CO2 formation, whereas the ethane conversion
and ethylene selectivity were almost equal in the two investigated reactors. The experimental results indicate
that, in the electrochemical operation, additional oxygen species exist in the system and are especially reactive
in the total oxidation reactions.
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