Abstract
The present study aims to investigate the catalytic ethanol dehydration to higher value products including ethylene, diethyl ether (DEE), and acetaldehyde. The catalysts used for this reaction were WO3/TiO2catalysts having W loading of 13.5 wt.%. For a comparative study, the TiO2supports employed were varied by two different preparation methods including the sol-gel and solvothermal-derived TiO2supports, denoted as TiO2-SG and TiO2-SV, respectively. It is obvious that the different preparation methods essentially altered the physicochemical properties of TiO2supports. It was found that the TiO2-SV exhibited higher surface area and pore volume and larger amounts of acid sites than those of TiO2-SG. As a consequence, different characteristics of support apparently affected the catalytic properties of WO3/TiO2catalysts. As expected, both catalysts WO3/TiO2-SG and WO3/TiO2-SV exhibited increased ethanol conversion with increasing temperatures from 200 to 400°C. It appeared that the highest ethanol conversion (ca. 88%) at 400°C was achieved by the WO3/TiO2-SV catalysts due to its high acidity. It is worth noting that the presence of WO3onto TiO2-SV yielded a remarkable increase in DEE selectivity (ca. 68%) at 250°C. In summary, WO3/TiO2-SV catalyst is promising to convert ethanol into ethylene and DEE, having the highest ethylene yield of ca. 77% at 400°C and highest DEE yield of ca. 26% at 250°C. These can be attributed to proper pore structure, acidity, and distribution of WO3.
Highlights
Catalytic ethanol dehydration to produce ethylene and diethyl ether (DEE) has been paid attention due to its cleaner technology and efficient utilization of ethanol, which is a renewable raw material obtained from fermentation of biomass
TiO2-SG and TiO2-SV, they exhibited the similar X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) patterns having the strong di raction peaks located at 2θ degree of 25°, 38°, and 48°, which are assigned to the tetragonal anatase phase of crystalline TiO2 [32, 33]
When the support was impregnated with 13.5 wt.% of tungsten, the XRD patterns were similar with those of titania supports. e intensities were lower indicating the smaller crystallite size of WO3/TiO2 catalysts than the TiO2 supports
Summary
Catalytic ethanol dehydration to produce ethylene and diethyl ether (DEE) has been paid attention due to its cleaner technology and efficient utilization of ethanol, which is a renewable raw material obtained from fermentation of biomass. Considering the production of commercialized DEE at present, it is produced from dehydration of ethanol, the process is not benign since it uses mineral liquid acids such as H2SO4 to catalyze the reaction. The production of ethylene and DEE from ethanol using suitable solid catalysts is very captivating
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