Superacid catalysis of light hydrocarbon conversion. Final report, August 26, 1993--August 26, 1996

Abstract

Motivated by the goal of finding improved catalysts for low- temperature conversion of light alkanes into fuel components or precursors of fuel components, the researchers have investigated sulfated zirconia and promoted sulfated zirconia for conversion of butane, propane, and ethane. Catalyst performance data for sulfated zirconia promoted with iron and manganese show that it is the most active noncorrosive, nonhalide catalyst known for n-butane isomerization, and it is an excellent candidate catalyst for new low- temperature n-butane isomerization processes to make isobutane, which can be converted by established technology into methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE). Various transition metals have been found to work as promoters of sulfated zirconia for n-butane isomerization. The combination of iron and manganese is the best known combination of promoters yet discovered. The iron- and manganese-promoted sulfated zirconia is also a catalyst for conversion of propane and of ethane. Ethane is converted into ethylene and butanes in the presence of the iron- and manganese-promoted sulfated zirconia; propane is also converted into butane, among other products. However, the activities of the catalyst for these reactions are orders of magnitude less than the activity for n-butane conversion, and there is no evidence that the catalyst would be of practical value for conversion of alkanes lighter than butane. The product distribution data for ethane and propane conversion provide new insights into the nature of the catalyst and its acidity. These data suggest the involvement of Olah superacid chemistry, whereby the catalyst protonates the alkane itself, giving carbonium ions (as transition states). The mechanism of protonation of the alkane may also pertain to the conversion of butane, but there is good evidence that the butane conversion also proceeds via alkene intermediates by conventional mechanisms of carbenium ion formation and rearrangement.