Current and future use of lighter naphtha feedstock in the steam cracker causes a shortage of butadiene on the short term, triggering research for its on-purpose synthesis. Besides biotechnological and dehydrogenation options, direct conversion of ethanol to butadiene is an interesting case of producing �green� rubbers for e.g., tires [1]. Many companies with research institutes are currently announcing initiatives for ethanol-to-butadiene processes [2]. One of the big hurdles in the conversion is the development of a compositionally simple catalyst with high selectivity, activity and stability. The presentation will show the direct synthesis of 1,3-butadiene (BD) from ethanol using magnesia�silica catalysts doped with transition metal(oxide)s [3]. The effects of Mg/Si ratio, the synthesis procedure, and the dopant concentration were studied. It was demonstrated that modification of the magnesia�silica binary system using a consecutive impregnation step significantly increases the ethanol conversion rate and BD yield. The BD yield higher than 55 mol.% was obtained at full ethanol conversion for materials containing Cu and Ag modifiers. The influence of the reaction temperature and the ethanol concentration in the feed was also investigated. This investigation led to high BD productivity (> 0.25 gBD gcat-1 h-1) and high BD concentration in the product stream (> 10,000 Vppm). Recent in depth catalyst characterization studies has shed light on its role in the different reaction types: dehydrogenation, condensation, MPV and dehydration. The catalyst characteristics in case of the Ag modified MgO/SiO2 are discussed in detail in relation to the catalytic reaction network and performance (in terms of Selectivity, activity and productivity). [1] http://cen.acs.org/articles/89/i50/Making-Rubber-Renewables.html[2] http://www.tirebusiness.com/article/20131113/NEWS/131119959/michelin-in-bio-butadiene-partnership.[3] EV Makshina, W Janssens, BF Sels, PA Jacobs, Catalysis Today (2012) 198 (1), 338-344.

Catalysts and their characteristics for the conversion of bioethanol to butadiene

248th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.