Coal Chemical Industry Research Articles

Preparation and performance of multi-ionic composite coagulants based on coal gasification coarse slag by one-step acid leaching

Coal gasification coarse slag (CGCS) is a kind of solid waste generated from coal chemical industry. A series of CGCS based multi-ionic composite coagulants were achieved with one-step acid leaching process, optimizing by HCl concentration and acid leaching time. The results indicated that the optimal Coagulant-3.0 showed a remarkable performances on kaolin simulated wastewater with removal efficiency of 98.0% turbidity, 98.0% NH4-N, and 37.0% CODCr, which were of 91.8%, 77.4% and 69.9% for domestic sewage, respectively. Coagulant-3.0 was further characterized by X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). It was found that Coagulant-3.0 was mainly occupied with Fe, Ca, and Al. The good fitting of the pseudo-second-order kinetic model revealed that the co-existence of multi-ions played a synergistic role in the improvement of coagulation performance. Furthermore, the coagulation mechanisms of charge neutralization, adsorption bridging, and sedimentation netting were basically investigated. The work was unique in developing a novel, cost-effective strategy for the production of coagulants based on the intrinsic constituents of CGCS, and providing a safe and efficient way to dispose of CGCS. Additionally, it is potential to offer an alternative pathway for increasing the additional value of the coal chemical industry.

Efficiency of submerged ceramic flat membrane bioreactor in the treatment of coal chemical wastewater

Coal chemical wastewater inhibits the development of the modern coal chemical industry. This study used a submerged ceramic flat membrane bioreactor to treat coal chemical wastewater. By combining the characteristics of high flux and high strength of ceramic flat membrane with the characteristics of high sludge concentration of Membrane Bio-Reactor (MBR). The treatment effect of ceramic flat membrane bioreactor on coal chemical wastewater and related influencing factors were studied. The Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) concentration, ammonia nitrogen concentration, total phenol concentration, and turbidity of coal chemical wastewater could be reduced to below 31.4 mg/L, 3.03 mg/L, 3.76 mg/L, and 0.4 NTU. The ceramic flat membrane bioreactor achieved the optimal removal effect on pollutants when Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) was 21 h, Dissolved Oxygen (DO) concentration was 3.2–4.0 mg/L and pH was 7.1–7.5. Among them, the total phenol removal ratio reached the maximum value of 95.31 %, and the COD removal ratio remained at 93 % ∼ 94 %, ammonia nitrogen removal ratio was stable at 95 % ∼ 97 %. The microorganisms in the mixture and membrane mainly were aerobic bacteria, and the content of organic-degrading bacteria, nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria was high. The addition of a membrane module not only prevented the loss of activated sludge in the reactor but also kept a high sludge concentration. Meanwhile, the addition of a membrane module also improves the biodiversity and stability of sludge treatment system.

Investigation of the deactivation and regeneration of an Fe2O3/Al2O3•SiO2 catalyst used in catalytic ozonation of coal chemical industry wastewater

Catalyst deactivation is an ongoing concern for industrial application of catalytic ozonation processes. In this study, we systematically investigated the performance of a catalytic ozonation process employing Fe2O3/Al2O3•SiO2 catalyst for the treatment of coal chemical industry (CCI) wastewater using pilot-scale and laboratory-scale systems. Our results show that the activity of the Fe2O3/Al2O3•SiO2 catalyst for organic contaminant removal deteriorated over time due to formation of a dense and thin carbonaceous layer on the Fe2O3 catalyst surface. EPR and fluorescence imaging analysis confirm that the passivation layer essentially inhibited the O3-catalyst interaction thereby minimizing formation of surficial •OH and associated oxidation of organic contaminants on the catalyst surface. Calcination was demonstrated to be effective in restoring the activity of the catalyst since the carbonaceous layer could be efficiently combusted during calcination to re-establish the surficial •OH-mediated oxidation process. The combustion of the carbonaceous layer and restoration of the Fe layer on the surface on calcination was confirmed based on SEM-EDX, FTIR and thermogravimetric analysis. Cost analysis indicates that regeneration using calcination is economically viable compared to catalyst replacement. The results of this study are expected to pave the way for developing appropriate regeneration techniques for deactivated catalysts and optimising the catalyst synthesis procedure.

Co-gasification behaviors of various coal-based solid fuels blends at initial stage of oxy-fuel Co-combustion

The technology of oxy-fuel co-combustion is beneficial to consume the large amount of ultra-low volatile coal-based solid fuels (UCF). Moreover, the oxy-fuel co-combustion of various UCFs could also promote the development of coal-chemical industry and reduce the carbon emission in power plants. However, the co-gasification behaviors of various coal-based solid fuels blends at initial oxy-fuel co-firing stage are still vague, which need to be further studied. In the present, the co-gasification features of various coal-based solid fuels blends during initial oxy-fuel co-combustion process were investigated by oxy-fuel co-combustion system experimentally. The rise of O2 concentration could obtain low Brunner−Emmet−Teller surface area and high Barrett-Joyner-Halenda average pore owing to the collapse of internal structures. The nitrogen gases (X–N) yields show a decreasing trend with the UCF proportion raised. The increasing temperature could promote the gas release of sample. The ash droplets observed on the surface of blend were formed by reactions between oxygen and carbon on the sample surface in 3% O2/97% CO2 atmosphere, which are enlarged with temperature significantly. The present research could be beneficial for efficiency utilization of low-rank coal, together with the reduction of NOx emission and realization of carbon neutrality.

Recycling cinder in efficient methane production from wheat straw via solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD)

Solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD) has received widespread attention due to its high methane productivity and organic loading, as well as its almost nonexistent wastewater emission. However, local acidification of the reaction system resulted in low material transfer efficiency due to low free water content leading to low energy conversion efficiency. Cinder is a byproduct of the coal chemical industry that has the potential to enhance the SS-AD performance due to its porous structure, electrocatalytic activity, and high trace elements concentration. The effect of cinder addition on SS-AD of wheat straw at 35 °C was studied herein. The cumulative methane of 2.5%, 5.0%, and 10.0% cinder groups were 41.25, 33.34, 28.94, and 26.68 mL/g VS, respectively, which increased 54.61%, 24.96%, and 8.47% compared to control (CK), with 2.5% cinder obtained the highest methane production. Cinder considerably enhanced volatile fatty acids conversion, particularly the propionic acid. The modified Gompertz model was used to predict the methane production potential and found to be able to accurately fit the characteristics of gas production. The maximum methane production of three test groups (2.5%, 5.0%, and 10.0%) was predicted to increase by 53.28%, 26.60%, and 11.56%, respectively, compared to CK. Cinder greatly enhanced the abundance of Methanosarcina, Fibrobacteres, and Spirochaetoma, which contributed to the switch from hydrogenophilic to acetylated methanogenesis. The prediction of the abundance of enzymes associated with microbial metabolism verified that cinder contributed to the greatest abundance of enzymes working in the hydrolysis phase, including peptidases, pyruvate metabolism, and genes encoding methane metabolism. Based on the concept of circular economy, this study presents a significant reference for synergistic and efficient disposal of industrial and agricultural wastes with high-value utilization.

Wet Oxidation of Excess Activated Sludge from Coal Chemical Industry

Excess activated sludge produced from coal chemical industries has gained much attention, because of the huge volume and high hazardous risk of the sludge. The wet oxidation of coal chemical sludge was studied in this study by using a stainless steel batch reactor. The effects of reaction parameters, including the moisture content, the additional dose of sludge, reaction temperature and the additional amount of oxygen, were discussed. The results showed that the highest removal ratios of COD and TS could reach up to 72.3% and 56.4% respectively with moisture content of sludge 93%, initial oxygen pressure 1.7 MPa under 240°C for 60 min. The mass transfer processes of sludge and oxygen, and the reaction temperature, are very important parameters for the treatment. It was suggested that wet oxidation technology provides a suitable alternative method for the treatment of excess sludge from coal chemical industries.

A new method of sulfur recovery from coking waste liquor

ABSTRACT The traditional ammonia desulfurization process (TADP) is mainly used in the coking process of coal. The disadvantage of this process is that it produces ammonium sulfate, sodium sulfate, gypsum, and other low value-added by-products, as well as a large number of sulfur-containing wastewater, which seriously restricts the green development of the coal chemical industry. In this study, the TADP has been effectively improved. A late-model, ecologically friendly, economical, and feasible treatment method for sulfur-containing wastewater was designed. The novel ammonia desulfurization process (NADP) not only realized the high added value utilization of sulfur but also greatly saved water resources by recycling wastewater. The key to this process is to connect the crystallization reactor with the rich liquid outlet of the TADP, which simplifies the desulfurization process and improves the desulfurization efficiency. The sulfur content of coking desulfurization wastewater in the NADP was determined using Ultraviolet-Visible Spectrophotometer. The sulfur removal efficiency was up to 91.5%, indicating that it is feasible to recover sulfur from sulfur-containing wastewater by NADP. The by-product zinc sulfide (ZnS) powder was characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM, and FT-IR. The results showed that the cubic ZnS powder with high added value could be obtained by NADP desulfurization. This process can provide evidence for effective removal of sulfur from sulfur-containing wastewater and green production of resource utilization.

The assessment of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in China's chemical industry

The chemical industry has a large production scale, many products, and very complex processes, so estimating the greenhouse gas (GHG) it produces is not easy. Few comprehensive assessment models at the national level are studied. Emission sources of most models are not complete, and data are outdated. The paper conducts a comprehensive assessment of GHG emissions in China's chemical industry. The emission sources cover direct and indirect emissions. The chemical industry is divided into three main sub sectors to explore GHG flows. GHG flows are examined through chemical production and consumption, and then the emission reduction potential is predicted based on technological developments. The assessment results show that crude oil and coal are the main sources of direct GHG emissions. The indirect GHG emissions are mainly from North China and Northwest China. GHG emissions in the power grid regions are directly related to the distribution of the chemical industry in China. Coal chemical industry has the most GHG emissions. The analysis of driving factors shows that the output effect is the main factor of GHG emissions. Scenario analysis shows that the baseline scenario will reach 6195.95 Mt in 2030. Under the technological improvement scenarios, 589.01 Mt emission reduction can be achieved by 2030 compared with the baseline scenario. Based on the results of the study, this paper provides some policy recommendations.

Thermal and mechanical properties of coal gasification slag based foam concrete.

Foam concrete possesses low density and excellent thermal insulation properties and has been widely used in construction industry. Considering the recycling and reusing of coal gasification slag (CGS), a solid waste product in the coal chemical industry, CGS was used as the supplementary cementations material to prepare foam concrete (CGS-FC) in this work. The influence of the CGS content and water-binder ratio on the pore structure, mechanical and thermal properties was investigated. The results show that the CGS content and water-binder ratio directly impact the fluidity of the slurry, which affects the internal pore structure of the specimens after molding. And a CGS-FC with a compressive strength of 6.89 MPa, thermal conductivity of 0.24 W/m K, and a bulk density of 867 kg/m3 was successfully produced when the CGS content was 30% and water-binder ratio was 0.5. In particular, the utilization of CGS to prepare foam concrete product has recycling efficiency and environmental benefit.

Hybrid peroxi-coagulation/ozonation process for highly efficient removal of organic contaminants

Aromatic compounds such as phenols presented widely in coal chemical industry wastewater (CCW) render the treatment facing great challenge due to their biorefractory characteristics and potential risks to the environment and human health. Ozone-based advanced oxidation processes show promising for these pollutants removal, but the mineralization via ozonation alone is unsatisfactory and not cost-effective. Herein, a hybrid peroxi-coagulation/ozonation process (denoted as PCO) was developed using sacrificial iron plate as an anode and carbon black modified carbon felt as cathode in the presence of ozonation. An enhanced phenol removal of ∼100% within 20 min and phenol mineralization of ∼80% within 60 min were achieved with a low energy consumption of 0.35 kWh/g TOC. In this novel process, synergistic effect between ozonation and peroxi-coagulation was observed, and beside O3 direct oxidation, peroxone played a dominant role for phenol removal. In the PCO process, the hydrolyzed Fe species enhanced the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), while •OH was dominantly responsible for pollutant degradation. This process also illustrated high resistance to high ionic strength and better performance for TOC removal in real wastewater when compared with ozonation and peroxi-coagulation process. Therefore, this process is more cost-effective, being very promising for CCW treatment.

Coal-carbon-pollutant Coordinated Control of Coal Chemical Industry Under Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality Constraints

Under carbon peak and carbon neutrality constraints, the coal chemical industry should take stricter measures to tackle carbon reduction. Based on the intensity differences of five major coal and carbon reduction measures applied by the coal chemical industry, which include raw material structure adjustment, fuel structure adjustment, energy-saving technology transformation, terminal capture technology, and industrial structure adjustment, this study adopted the downstream sector demand method and project method, combined with the air pollution reduction model, to predict three scenarios (benchmark, policy, and enhancement) of coal chemical industry peak year and peak amount of coal consumption and carbon dioxide emission, associated with air pollutant reduction row effects. The results showed that coal consumption under the benchmark and policy scenarios of the coal chemical industry is expected to reach a peak in the late period of China's "14th Five-Year Plan", with peak values of 0.96 billion and 0.93 billion tons, respectively. By contrast, under the enhanced scenario, it is expected to peak in the early period of the "14th Five-Year Plan" with a value of 0.91 billion tons. The carbon peak will arrive in the late period of the "15th Five-Year Plan" under the benchmark scenario but in the early and late period of the "14th Five-Year Plan" under the policy and enhanced scenarios, with peak values of approximately 0.64 billion, 0.57 billion, and 0.55 billion tons, respectively. Controlling the construction scale of new coal chemical projects, tapping the space for raw material substitution, and speeding up the energy-saving technological transformation are important measures for coal and carbon control in the coal chemical industry. The implementation of coal and carbon reduction measures of the coal chemical industry will coordinately reduce air pollutant emissions, such as SO2, NOx, PM, and VOCs by 37, 43, 11, and 28 thousand tons per year after 2035.

Unexpected oxidative cracking of diformyltricyclodecanes under catalyst-free and ultra-low temperature

Abstract The oxidative cracking of diformyltricyclodecanes (DFTD) to C6–C8 alkenes and alkenes were systematically studied in this work. A series of experiments was performed over a broad range of conditions (temperature: 40–60 °C; oxygen pressure: 0–1.0 Mpa; reaction time: 5–90 min, solvent selection) for exploring the reaction route and mechanism. Results show that the higher temperature and oxygen pressure, as well as tetrahydrofuran (THF) as solvent are of benefit to the generation of cracking products. In addition, the kinetics of this reaction was explored by the dynamic fitting. The obtained kinetics parameters demonstrate that the transformation of intermediate to cracking products possesses higher activation energy than to dicarboxyltricyclodecaneacids (DCTDA), showing that higher temperature is conducive to the generation of DFTD cracking products. This work firstly demonstrated that DFTD could be formed into C6-C8 alkenes containing the same as gasoline compound by the oxidative cracking, suggesting that the by-product of petroleum and coal could be transferred into fuels; this expanded the application of DCPD and will have significant and positive influence on the petroleum and coal chemical industry.

Oxyfuel Cofiring Characteristics of Biomass with Ultralow Volatile Carbon-Based Fuels

Biomass from agricultural production is a renewable energy source with a high-volatile content. Semicoke (SC) and gasification residual carbon, which are ultralow volatile carbon-based fuels (LVFs), are by-products of the coal chemical industry, which are over capacity and urgently need to be cleanly and effectively consumed. Biomass and LVFs exhibit complementary fuel characteristics, particularly the volatile content, which can potentially be coprocessed efficiently. Furthermore, oxyfuel combustion technology can not only realize carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and benefit from carbon neutrality, but also effectively reduce NOx emissions. The cocombustion of biomass and ultralow volatile fuel under oxyfuel conditions can both use individual benefits and effectively control pollutant emissions. However, the cofiring characteristics and interaction mechanisms of LVF with biomass in an oxyfuel atmosphere are yet to be fully understood. In this study, three ultralow volatile fuels and one typical biomass were selected to explore the oxyfuel cocombustion characteristics via thermogravimetric experiments. The experimental results indicated that blending with wheat straw (WS) improved the overall combustion performance, the ignition point was close to that of WS, and the burnout temperature was close to the average value of the two individual fuels. An increase in the oxygen content can effectively enhance the combustion feature of ultralow volatile fuels while it has little effect on the burnout performance of biomass. In the presence of high-content CO2, the decomposition of carbonate in ultralow volatile fuel is impeded and the decomposition temperature is slightly increased. The present investigation can promote the efficient co-utilization of inferior LVFs and biomass, which also benefits CO2 capture, carbon neutrality, and even negative carbon emissions.

Low-carbon transformation planning of China's power energy system under the goal of carbon neutrality.

China has become the largest energy producer and consumer in the world. Its carbon emissions account for 80% of its total carbon emissions, while the carbon emissions caused by energy consumption in the power industry account for more than 50%. To ensure that the 2030 carbon-peak and 2060 carbon-neutral targets are achieved, it is imperative to carry out low-carbon energy transformation in the power industry. The paper compares and analyzes the technical level of six high-energy-consuming industries: power, steel, cement, aluminum smelting, petrochemical industry, and coal chemical industry in terms of low carbon. The results show that the structural adjustment of China's high-energy-consuming industries has reached the upper limit, and the low-carbon transformation of power and energy has become inevitable. The carbon emissions of China's six regional power grids are statistically analyzed. The background of the power generation proportion of China's thermal power, hydropower, nuclear power, wind power, solar power and other different energy systems from 2018 to 2020 is analyzed, and the development trend is predicted. The low-carbon emission path of power energy is proposed. Based on the EnergyPLAN model, the power energy structure of carbon peaking in different scenarios from 2020 to 2030 is constructed, and the power energy system's carbon dioxide emission reduction paths under different scenarios are obtained. The sustainability impact of different power generation combination scenarios is comprehensively evaluated using the multi-index evaluation method, and the optimal path of the power system to energy scenario is selected. The research conclusion provides a basis for the power sector's renewable energy power generation path selection.

Alkyl-tetralin base oils synthesized from coal-based chemicals and evaluation of their lubricating properties

Naphthenic base oil is an important lubricating base oil and very scarce in the global petroleum resources. Herein, a series of alkylated tetralin fluids similar to naphthenic base oils were produced by the alkylation of tetralin and α-olefins (n-hexene, n-octene, n-decene) with ionic liquid Et3NHCl/AlCl3 as the catalyst, where the applied raw materials are totally derived from the coal chemical industry. The product composition could be controlled by adjusting the feeding ratio of tetralin and olefin. The synthetic fluids were evaluated as lubricating base oils to reveal the structure–property correlations. Their principal physicochemical and tribological properties depend on the chain-length of α-olefins and the number of alkyl groups onto the aromatic rings. Bis-(octyl- or decyl-) alkyl tetralin exhibited good properties in terms of viscosity, thermo-oxidation stability and pour point, as well as friction-reducing and anti-wear performance, showing great potential for producing naphthenic base synthetic oils from coal-based chemicals.

Extraction selection and process optimization of phenol-containing wastewater from coal chemical industry

In order to efficiently remove phenolics from coal chemical wastewater, this study utilizes molecular simulation to determine the most effective extractant. And the extraction effect is verified through simulation results. The energy of hydrogen bonding dominates the extractant’s extraction ability. The interaction between phenols the and solvent was examined using molecular simulation calculations, and it was discovered that the strong H-bond interaction between the CYC/1-PA synergistic extractant and phenols produces outstanding extraction effects. The results of the full process simulation validation showed that the CYC/1-PA synergistic extractant could properly treat the wastewater.

Process analysis of a novel coal-to-methanol technology for gasification integrated solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC)

China's carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals present a significant challenge for coal chemical technology, which is critical to securing the energy structure. Combining coal chemical industry technology with new energy is an effective approach to transform the development of the coal chemical industry. This paper proposes and studies a novel coal-to-methanol (CTM) technology of gasification integrated solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC). SOEC electrolytic hydrogen production technology is an advanced electrolytic water technology with the advantages of large scale and high efficiency, which is very suitable to be combined with industrial technology and can solve the painful problem of H2 deficiency in the conventional coal to methanol process. In this study, from mechanistic analysis and model simulations, it is observed that by increasing the SOEC capacity, the novel CTM system can create more methanol at the same coal consumption and simultaneously reduce CO2 emissions. The novel CTM system can produce up to 2.2 times more methanol and reduce CO2 emissions by 94% by replacing the water-gas-shift (WGS) process with the SOEC unit. The novel CTM increases energy consumption. In addition, the novel CTM technology will effectively improve the economics of coal to methanol, taking into account the carbon tax. At the methanol price of 2900 RMB/t and SOEC capacity of 250 MW, the economic benefits of novel CTM were 2.1 times greater than CTM technology.

The upper thermal efficiency and life-cycle environmental assessment of nuclear-based hydrogen production via splitting H2S and CO2

It is proposed to develop a novel thermochemical cycle using nuclear energy to decompose H2S and CO2, thus producing H2 and CO from acidic gas in petrochemical or coal chemical industries, reducing CO2 emissions and promoting sustainable energy development. The upper limits and significant energy-consuming steps were determined based on two chemical routes of the thermochemical cycle systems 1 and 2. When the enthalpy of the H2S oxidation reaction served as part of the circulating energy input, the values for system 1 and system 2 were 38.7% and 34.3%, respectively. However, if only external energy is considered to satisfy the heat and work required to run the reaction and pump, the thermal efficiency rises to 58.4% and 61.2%, respectively. The life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to investigate the environmental effect of the hydrogen generation process base on the upper thermal efficiency in this study, and the results of the LCA are stated in terms of global warming potential (GWP) and acidification potential (AP). The GWP of systems 1 and 2 was calculated as 2.59 kg CO2-eq/kg H2, 2.54 kg CO2-eq/kg H2, The AP of systems 1 and 2 was calculated as 7.48 g SO2-eq/kg H2 and 9.08 g SO2-eq/kg H2, respectively. This paper assesses the environmental effect of two different hydrogen systems used in manufacturing various subsystems in GWP and AP, and compares them to the life cycle of other hydrogen production pathways.

Insight into the mechanism of gasification fine slag enhanced flotation with selective dispersion flocculation

Coal gasification fine slag (CGFS) produced in the coal chemical industry has caused severe environmental pollution and resource waste. To realize the utilization of CGFS, we have to efficiently separate unburned carbon (UC) in CGFS. In this work, based on the discovery of the covering between CGFS particles, the selective dispersion flocculation flotation method is proposed to improve the efficient separation of UC from CGFS. The mechanism of selective dispersion flocculation is revealed through adsorption mode, interaction force between particles, and the particle size distribution of floc under different reagent conditions. Results show that a hydrophilic layer is formed on the surface of ash particles, which hinders the adsorption of PAM and ash particles due to the chemical adsorption of SHMP with ash particles. However, carbon particles are not affected by SHMP and can be directly adsorbed with PAM. This selective adsorption dominates the interaction force of adsorbed particles, and then controls the agglomeration of particles. After selective dispersion flocculation, the original carbon-ash selective agglomeration state is changed to the carbon–carbon selective agglomeration state. D90 of fine carbon particles changed from 110.21 μm to 356.84 μm. Compared with the traditional flotation process, the combustible recovery rate of foam products is increased by 10.4 % and loss on ignition (LOI) is increased by approximately 5 %. This work is conducive to fundamentally understanding the mechanism of selective dispersion flocculation. It is helpful to guide the separation of carbon and ash from gasification slag in industry.

Regulation of A-site cations in AMn2Ox spinel catalysts on the deep oxidation of light alkanes VOCs

Light alkane VOCs are currently the most difficult VOCs to deal with in the petroleum and coal chemical industries due to their short carbon chains and stable molecular structures. On account of the metal components of spinel are diverse and the structure can be adjusted. Thus, a series of A-site cations substituted AMn2Ox (A = Co, Cu, Ni, Zn, Ce) spinel catalysts were prepared and the impacts of A-site cations on the oxidation of alkane were revealed. It was found that A-site metal ions made a big difference in the low-temperature reduction, lattice oxygen activity, high-valent manganese ion content, and oxygen vacancies with NiMn2O4 had the highest catalytic activity with a conversion of 90 % at 232 °C. In addition, in-situ DRIFTs were performed to investigate the underlying oxidation mechanisms for propane oxidation. We found that propane is firstly dehydrogenated by adsorption on the active site and then oxidized to carboxylates and carbonates, which are further converted to CO2 and H2O. Moreover, the catalyst also showed good stability and robust resistance of H2O and SO2. The excellent activity exhibited by Ni-Mn-based spinels may shed light on the development of efficient catalysts for light alkanes catalytic oxidation.