Magnesium oxide as a catalyst for the dehydrogenation of n-octane

Magnesium oxide was prepared and used as a catalyst for the dehydrogenation of n-octane. The catalyst was characterized by ICP-OES, BET, powder XRD, IR, H2-TPR and SEM. The catalyst was tested for the oxidative dehydrogenation of n-octane using a continuous flow fixed bed reactor at a GHSV of 6000 h−1 and n-octane/oxygen (O2) molar ratio of 0.8. Octenes were found to be the dominant dehydrogenation products, with 2-octenes being the dominant isomers. Among the C8 aromatics, ethylbenzene was the most-formed product, followed by styrene and o-xylene. The aromatization of n-octane was predominantly through the C1–C6 mode of cyclization.