Production of 1,3-Butadiene from Ethanol Using Treated Zr-Based Catalyst

Abstract

The conversion of ethanol to 1,3-butadiene was carried out using a treated Zr-based catalyst at a temperature of 350–400 °C with different weight hourly space velocities in a fixed bed reactor. The catalysts used are commercial, but they underwent pretreatment. The commercial catalysts used were ZrO2, Zr(OH)2, 2% CaO-ZrO2, 30% TiO2-ZrO2, 50% CeO2-ZrO2 and 10% SiO2-ZrO2 in their modified or treated form. The characterizations of the catalysts were carried out using XRD, XPS, and TGA. The results indicated that ethanol conversion, yield, and selectivity of 1,3-butadiene operated weight hourly space velocity of 2.5 h−1 using 10% SiO2-ZrO2 were 95%, 80%, and 85%, respectively, at 350 °C. Using 50% CeO2-ZrO2 converted 70% ethanol with a 1,3-butadiene yield of 65%. The best Zr-based catalyst was 10% SiO2-ZrO2 as it gives a steady 1,3-butadiene yield, the Si-composition with ZrO2 gives a good catalytic pour of the catalyst-bed structure; hence, the life span was good. Using 30% TiO2-ZrO2 has an ethanol conversion of 70% with a 1,3-butadiene yield of 43%.