The partial oxilation of ethane over a B2O3-Al2O3 catalyst

Abstract

The catalytic activities were examined for the partial oxidation of ethane over various metal oxides. B2O3(30wt%)-added Al2O3 showed the highest catalytic activity in the formation of acetaldehyde (yield: 1.03%) and ethylene (14.6%). Ethylene and acetaldehyde are assumed to be formed via a common reaction intermediate because of the similarity in their kinetic behavior and the similar activation-energy values observed. The second-order dependence of the formation rates for the two products on the pressure of ethane suggests that the two molecules of ethane participate in the formation of the intermediate in the chain reaction mechanism proposed. The active site for the formation of acetaldehyde from the intermediate is suggested to be a highly dispersed boron electron-donated from alumina, but that for ethylene must be different from that of acetaldehyde.