Mo–V–Al–K–O catalyst for low-temperature oxidative dehydrogenation of propane

Compared with propane dehydrogenation (PDH) technology, oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of propane is an effective way to break through the thermodynamic constraints, which has changed the endothermic reaction into exothermic. Meanwhile, coking in PDH was significantly reduced by the presence of an oxidant in ODH of propane. Therefore, ODH of propane has attracted wide interest and has been studied in recent years. However, the contradiction between the conversion of propane and the selectivity of propene was the intrinsic problem of ODH of propane that required further study. In this work, a novel aluminum/potassium-doped mixed metal oxide catalyst Mo 1 V 0.5 Al 0.02 K 0.03 O x was synthesized using a simple co-impregnation method, whose selectivity for propene (83.2 %) and conversion of propane (12.7 %) at 300 °C were the best among all other alkali metal/alkaline-earth metal-doped catalysts. The further discussion illustrated that doping potassium and alumina could synergistically adjust the density of acid sites on the catalyst, establishing an equilibrium between high propane conversion and the ideal propene selectivity. After modification, the density of Brønsted acid decreased, leading to an enhancement in the selectivity of propene. Simultaneously, the addition of steam in the feed gas promotes propene to oxygenates and improves the conversion of propane under the condition of constant contact time.