Dehydrogenation of Propane in the Presence of CO2 on Supported Monometallic MOy/SiO2 and CrOxMOy/SiO2 (M = Fe, Co, and Ni) Bimetallic Catalysts

An analysis is performed of the physicochemical properties of M/SiO2 (M = Fe, Co, and Ni) oxide monometallic and CrM/SiO2 (M = Fe, Co, and Ni) bimetallic catalysts supported on amorphous silica. The catalysts are characterized via TGA, XRD, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and SEM. Adding 1 wt % of a second transition metal (Fe, Ni, and Co) to the 3% CrOx/SiO2 chromium oxide catalyst substantially raises the conversion of propane to 64% with a drop in the selectivity towards propylene and formation of methane as a main by-product in the case of nickel. Introducing iron and cobalt raises the selectivity towards propylene to 72% with a drop in the conversion of propane.