OXIDATIVE DEHYDROGENATION OF ETHANE OVER SOME TITANATES BASED PEROVSKITE OXIDES

A series of perovskite catalysts have been tested for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane. The composition of these catalysts covered CaTi1-xFexO3-delta, with 0 less-than-or-equal-to x less-than-or-equal-to 0.4, SrTi1-xFexO3-delta, with 0 less-than-or-equal-to x less-than-or-equal-to 1.0, as well as mixtures of these. The latter catalysts containing more basic Sr metal showed higher selectivity to ethene than the former catalysts containing Ca. A few catalysts with Co on B-sites in the lattice were tested, but lost their stability above 923 K, resulting in a substantial change in the product selectivity. The perovskites gained activity when Fe was introduced in the lattice to form hypervalent ions (Fe4+) which are believed to play a role in the catalytic activity of these materials.