A Study on Cr/CeO_2 Catalysts and Their Catalytic Performance for Dehydrogenation of Ethane

The dehydrogenation reaction of ethane over Cr/CeO2 catalysts in presence of CO2 was studied with fixed-bed micro-reactor. The Cr/CeO2 catalysts of different Cr loading have been synthesized using impregnation techniques. The Cr/CeO2 system has already been found to be active and selective in the reaction at around 740 ℃. The function of carbon dioxide is to remove coke and hydrogen to accelerate dehydrogenation of ethane. The results of catalysts characterizations indicated that Cr3+ and Cr6+ occurred on the surface of the catalysts. The 1.2 mmol Cr/100m2 CeO2 catalyst sample with a monolayer dispersion of Cr on CeO2 support showed a stronger surface acidity and a maximum yield of ethylene of about 35.5% at 36.6% conversion of ethane.