Dehydrogenation of n-butane over vanadia catalysts supported on silica gel

VOx/SiO2 catalysts prepared by impregnation method were used for catalytic dehydrogenation of n-butane to butenes and characterized by X-ray diffraction, FT-IR, UV-vis, Raman, and BET measurements. The effects of VOx loading and the reaction temperature on the VOx/SiO2 catalysts and their catalytic performances for the dehydrogenation of n-butane were studied. When the VOx loading was 12% g/g(cat) and reaction temperature was between 590 degrees C and 600 degrees C, n-butane conversion and butenes yields reached the highest value under H-2 flux of 10 ml/min and n-butane flux of 10 ml/min. Product distribution, such as the ratio of 2-butene to 1-butene and the ratio of cis-2-butene to trans-2-butene, was mainly influenced by the reaction temperature.