article · Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research
Chromium oxide catalysts synthesised via the sol-gel method offer an effective route for converting propane into propene through oxidative dehydrogenation. Testing various calcination temperatures between 300 and 600 degrees Celsius revealed that higher temperatures increase crystallite size and optical bandgap energy while reducing surface area, lattice oxygen, and the ratio of hexavalent to trivalent chromium. The catalyst treated at 300 degrees Celsius delivered the strongest performance, aided by its small crystallite size, high specific surface area, and favourable oxygen species distribution. Across extended continuous testing lasting 100 hours, all evaluated formulations maintained propane conversion levels above 90 percent, with the material prepared at 300 degrees Celsius exhibiting the greatest stability. Computational modelling confirmed that chromium-oxygen surface sites serve as the primary active centres driving the reaction.
Propene is a vital raw material for manufacturing plastics, chemicals, and industrial products. Oxidative dehydrogenation provides an alternative method to produce propene from propane, but it requires catalysts that remain active without degrading quickly. Demonstrating a catalyst that retains more than 90 percent conversion over 100 hours offers useful guidance for designing more durable catalytic systems for chemical transformations.
This research targets industrial propene production, which is relevant to chemical manufacturers and petrochemical processing facilities. The findings demonstrate robust 100-hour bench-scale performance and identify critical active sites. However, the technology remains early-stage laboratory research, requiring further scale-up, pilot testing under industrial flow conditions, and regeneration assessments before commercial deployment can be considered.
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A series of chromium oxides (CrOx) were prepared using the sol–gel method for the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane into propene (ODHP). After calcination at temperatures ranging from 300 °C to 600 °C, the obtained nanopowders were comprehensively characterized. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed an increase in crystallite size with annealing temperature, whereas Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis disclosed a decreasing tendency of specific surface area. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results disclosed spherical and smooth shapes with an agglomeration of small fine particles. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) deconvolution revealed a decrement in lattice oxygen, OLat/OAds, and Cr6+/Cr3+ with annealing temperature. Raman and ultraviolet–visible light (UV-vis) spectra reported the presence of isolated and polymeric Cr6+ oxides and the increment of the bandgap energy with the increase of the calcination temperature. Cr-300 exhibited the best catalytic activity due to the smallest crystallite grain size and bandgap energy, the highest OLat/OAds, Cr6+/Cr3+, and OLat with the largest surface specific area. Furthermore, after a stability test of 100 h, all catalysts maintained >90% propane conversion, and Cr-300 was the most stable. The DFT calculations revealed that the Cr–O site is the leading active site in the promotion of ODHP. The high stability and performance of Cr-300 catalyst regarding ODHP could pave the way for further industrial applications.
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DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.2c00813
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