Kinetics, Mechanism, and Site Requirements of Ethanol Dehydration on γ-Al2O3

2013-04-20
Loading...
Thumbnail Image

View/Download File

Persistent link to this item

Statistics
View Statistics

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Title

Kinetics, Mechanism, and Site Requirements of Ethanol Dehydration on γ-Al2O3

Published Date

2013-04-20

Publisher

Type

Presentation

Abstract

Over 140 million tonnes of ethylene are produced annually by the cracking of petroleum feedstocks. A greener alternative to ethylene production from petroleum involves the dehydration of biomass-derived ethanol over a solid catalyst. In this work, the kinetics, mechanism, and site requirements of dehydration of ethanol to ethylene and diethyl ether on γ-alumina (γ‑Al2O3) were investigated at 215 °C. Pyridine titration showed that the active sites for ethylene and diethyl ether formation are acidic and non-equivalent. Kinetic isotope measurements using C2H5OD and C2D5OD revealed that ethylene formation is kinetically limited by the cleavage of a Cβ-H bond in ethanol while diethyl ether formation is kinetically limited by cleavage of the Cα-O bond. Steady state kinetic measurements at various ethanol and water pressures (1.1-7.1 kPa and 0.4-2.3 kPa, respectively) revealed that the surface sites responsible for ethylene formation are populated by ethanol monomers, ethanol-water complexes, ethanol dimers, and water dimers. The surface sites responsible for diethyl ether formation are predominantly populated by ethanol‑water complexes and ethanol dimers. Mechanisms and rate equations consistent with these observations were proposed for ethanol dehydration to ethylene and diethyl ether.

Keywords

Description

Related to

Replaces

License

Series/Report Number

Funding information

This research was supported by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP); Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation; The Dow Chemical Company.

Isbn identifier

Doi identifier

Previously Published Citation

Other identifiers

Suggested citation

Ho, Christopher. (2013). Kinetics, Mechanism, and Site Requirements of Ethanol Dehydration on γ-Al2O3. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/150649.

Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.