Chromium Oxide Supported on Mesoporous SBA-15 as Propane Dehydrogenation and Oxidative Dehydrogenation Catalysts

The catalytic activity and selectivity of Cr2O3 supported on mesoporous SBA-15 for non-oxidative and oxidative dehydrogenation of propane by O2 and CO2 have been studied and compared with those of Cr2O3/ZrO2 and Cr2O3/γ-Al2O3 catalysts. Cr2O3/SBA-15 and Cr2O3/ZrO2/SBA-15 are more selective to propene and more resistant to coking in comparison with Cr2O3/ZrO2 and Cr2O3/γ-Al2O3 for non-oxidative dehydrogenation of propane. In oxidative dehydrogenation of propane by O2 and CO2, Cr2O3/SBA-15 also displays better activity, selectivity and stability than the other two supported catalysts. The propane conversion and propene yield on Cr2O3/SBA-15 catalyst for oxidative dehydrogenation of propane by CO2 at 823 K reach 24.2 and 20.3%, respectively. XPS and TG/DTA have been used to characterize the catalysts before and after reaction. The differences in catalytic behavior of various supported Cr2O3 catalysts in the reactions have been discussed on the basis of the characterization results.