Development of a catalyst for the dehydrogenation of liquefied petroleum gas

Abstract

When trends such as “half of the world’s available oil reserves will be exhausted in the coming decades” and “expected production will not be able to meet demand for oil” collide, there may be a shortage of oil, which will increase the price of this resource and strongly push the transition to alternative energy sources. With limited reserves and deteriorating oil quality, increasing treatment costs lead to the need to use more light hydrocarbons, including liquefied petroleum gas, for the production of organic synthesis. Given that in recent years the oil industry has been actively using alternative sources of raw materials - condensate and associated gas, the attention of researchers is directed to the creation of processes for the conversion of light C₁-C₄ alkanes into lower olefins, aromatic hydrocarbons, fuels and other valuable products. Ethylene and propylene are among the main basic large-capacity petrochemical semi-products and are used for the production of a number of important commercial products. One of the promising directions for increasing the production of olefins is the widespread introduction of C₃-C₄ alkane dehydrogenation technology. A promising technology for obtaining lower olefins and other products is the conversion of methane, ethane, or propane-butane fractions on mono- or bimetallic catalysts.