ACS Catalysis
Research Article
selective titrant of penta-coordinated alumina atoms. Further-
more, Kwak et al. observed the dehydration rates of methanol
pressure (in the range of 1.1 to 3.1 kPa) between 373 and 433
K. A mechanism consistent with the observed inhibitory kinetic
effects of water and the pressure dependence of both ether and
olefin synthesis rates on alcohol pressure has not been reported
in the literature.
16
into dimethyl ether on BaO/γ-Al O at 573 K decreased with
2
3
BaO loading, suggesting that Lewis acidic penta-coordinated
surface alumina atoms play an important role in the synthesis of
ethers from alcohol dehydration on γ-Al O .
2
3
In this work, steady state kinetic measurements demonstrate
ethylene and diethyl ether (DEE) synthesis from the
17
Pines and Haag found that the cis/trans ratio among 2-
butene isomers produced from 2-butanol dehydration (cis/
trans = 4.3) was nearly equivalent to that from 1-butene
double-bond isomerization (cis/trans = 4.4) over η-alumina at
dehydration of ethanol over γ-Al O3 at 488 K are both
2
inhibited by the formation of ethanol−water dimer species at
ethanol pressures between 1.9 and 7.0 kPa and water partial
pressures between 0.4 and 2.2 kPa. Water was determined to
irreversibly poison a fraction of the active sites for ethylene and
DEE formation. Pyridine was found to reversibly inhibit the
rate of both ethylene and DEE synthesis to different degrees,
indicating the active sites are acidic in nature and are not
identical for the two dehydration products. Kinetic mechanisms
consistent with these conclusions are presented and evaluated.
5
23 K; on this basis the authors concluded that the two
reactions occur through the same intermediate. The authors
proposed a proton olefin complex on the surface formed from
the decomposition of a surface bound oxonium ion as the
intermediate for olefin formation to explain the high cis/trans
1
8
̈
ratios observed. Knozinger and Scheglila alternatively
concluded olefin formation occurs through an E-2 type
elimination of the alcohol rather than through a proton-olefin
complex intermediate based upon the measured kinetic isotope
effects (KIE) for the dehydration of deuterated tert-butanol, sec-
butanol, and iso-butanol into butenes between 393 and 483 K.
2
. MATERIALS AND METHODS
.1. Catalyst Preparation. γ-Al O (Alfa Aesar, BET
2
2
3
19
2
−1
3
−1
surface area = 155 m /g , pore volume = 0.257 cm g ) was
treated for 3 h in a 1 M NH NO solution at 353 K prior to its
use in kinetic experiments as previously described by Roy et
al. Catalyst particle sizes between 180 and 425 μm (40−80
mesh) were obtained by pressing and sieving the γ-Al O
3
̈
Knozinger et al. proposed the alcohol undergoes this
elimination across a surface hydroxyl group and a basic center.
An olefin in absence of water, however, would be unable to
reform the proposed reaction intermediate; the active sites,
therefore, would not be appropriate for olefin double bond
4
3
24
2
isomerization. Thus the mechanism proposed by Kno
̈
zinger et
powder. Acid-washed quartz sand (0.5−0.7 g, 152−422 μm
particle size, Acros Organics) was mixed with the catalyst
samples (0.02−0.2 g) to form the reactor bed. The catalyst was
1
9
al. is unable to fully explain the same cis/trans ratios for
dehydration and double bond isomerization measured by Pines
1
7
3
−1
and Haag.
Steady state kinetic measurements performed by Kno
et al. on the rate of olefin formation from the dehydration of
then treated in dry air (1.67 cm s at NTP conditions, Ind.
Grade, Matheson Trigas) for 4 h at 723 K after heating the
̈
zinger
−1
catalyst from ambient conditions with a rate of 0.0167 K s .
2
0
3 −1
cyclohexanol (10−33 kPa at 433 and 453 K) and the rate of
The catalyst samples were then cooled in dry air (1.67 cm s )
to the reaction temperature (488 K). The regeneration of the
catalyst after kinetic experiments was also achieved using the
same treatment in air.
21
ether formation from the dehydration of methanol (7−35 kPa
methanol pressures at 433−468 K) over γ-Al O with varying
2
3
alcohol and water partial pressures showed that the rates of
olefin and ether synthesis were inhibited by water and increased
with alcohol pressure before becoming independent of alcohol
pressure. The empirical rate expression shown in eq 1 was
proposed by the authors to fit the resulting data for both
reactions.
2.2. Steady State Kinetic Measurements of Ethanol
Dehydration over γ-Al O . The rate of ethanol dehydration
2
3
was measured using a quartz tube packed bed reactor (10 mm
inner diameter, 1.6 cm3 bed volume) system. The bed
temperature was measured with a type K thermocouple located
on the external surface of the reactor and maintained at
reaction temperature (488 K) using a tube furnace (National
Electric Furnace FA120 type) and a Watlow temperature
controller (96 series).
PA
r = r0
PA + bP
W
(1)
Ethanol dehydration was carried out at 488 K and ambient
pressure under a carrier gas consisting of He (1.7−3.2 cm s
at NTP conditions, grade 4.7, Minneapolis Oxygen Company)
r is the rate of olefin or ether formation, r is the rate of olefin
or ether formation at the zero order in the alcohol pressure
0
3
−1
limit, P and P are the partial pressures of alcohol and water,
A
W
and an internal standard mixture for analysis (25.0% CH and
respectively, and b is an empirical constant. The square root
dependence on ethanol pressure of the proposed expression,
however, implies the dissociation of the alcohol molecule into
two equivalent surface species, which is not consistent with
their proposed mechanisms for dehydration. Conversely, Shi
4
3
−1
balance Ar, 0.017 cm s at NTP conditions, Minneapolis
oxygen) and under differential reaction conditions (<10%
conversion). The catalyst was exposed to 2.2 kPa of deionized
water diluted with the carrier gas (1.7 cm s ) for 1 h at 488 K
prior to reaction.
3
−1
2
2
and Davis observed, upon dehydration of 2-butanol and
methanol at a constant total alcohol pressure at 503 K, the
selectivity of di-2-butyl and dimethyl ether increased propor-
tionally with the square of the partial pressure of 2-butanol and
Liquid pyridine (99+%, Sigma Aldrich), C
Decon Laboratories, Inc.), C OD (99.5 at.% D, Sigma-
Aldrich), C OD (99.5 at.% D, Sigma-Aldrich), and deionized
H OH (99.5%,
2
5
H
5
2
D
5
2
23
methanol, respectively. Alternatively, De Morgues et al.
water were fed into the carrier gas stream at 405 K via syringe
pumps (KD scientific KDS −100 and Cole Parmer). Feed
partial pressures (0.0−0.3 kPa pyridine, 0.9−7.0 kPa C H OH,
proposed that olefin formation occurred over two sites, one of
which is inhibited by water surface species based upon their
observation that the rate of propene synthesis from 2-propanol
dehydration was inversely proportional to water pressure (in
the range of 0.0 to 1.2 kPa) and independent of 2-propanol
2
5
1.3 kPa C H OD, 1.0 kPa C D OD, and 0.4−2.3 kPa deionized
2
5
2
5
water) were controlled by adjusting the liquid flow rates into
the system. Condensation of the reactants and products was
7
99
dx.doi.org/10.1021/cs400051k | ACS Catal. 2013, 3, 798−807