Correlation between Melting Temperatures of Alkaline Earth Elements and Their Effect as Promoters of Pt-Sn/γ-Al2O3 Catalyst in Propane Dehydrogenation Reaction

Abstract

Pt-Sn/Al 2 O 3 catalyst is well known to have good activity and selectivity for propane dehydrogenation reaction but suffers quick deactivation due to substantial coke formation. In this study effort has been made to improve the characteristics of this catalyst by making tri-metallic catalyst supported on gamma alumina. Pt-Sn-Ca/Al 2 O 3 catalyst was found best among these, especially in yielding improved results in terms of conversion, selectivity, yield and less coke formation. Calcium contents of the catalyst composition were also varied to attain the most suitable amount. Propane conversion, propylene selectivity and yield at optimum operation conditions were: 43.2%, 95.3% and 35.8% respectively at 575 • C. The catalysts were characterized by TEM, XPS, SEM-EDX, H2-TPR, NH3-TPD, CO titration and TGA techniques.