Ethane oxydehydrogenation over TiP2O7-supported NiO catalysts

Titanium pyrophosphate-supported NiO catalysts with different Ni loadings in the range from 10 to 26 wt. % were prepared by wet impregnation, characterized by nitrogen adsorption at −196 °C, ICP-OES, XRD, CO2-TPD and H2-TPR techniques and tested in ethane oxydehydrogenation (ODH) in the temperature range from 350 to 450 °C. With increasing the Ni loading, the surface area of the catalysts decreased while the NiO particle size, the basicity and the reducibility increased strongly influencing their catalytic performance. Increasing the Ni loading boosted ethane conversion that reached 36 and 50 % at 425 and 450 °C, respectively, for the highest nickel loading catalyst. Ethylene was the main reaction product for all the catalysts. The ethylene selectivity at isoconversion increases with increasing the Ni loading. The stability of the catalysts was studied at a temperature as high as their calcination temperature, i.e. 450 °C, and at lower temperature.