Improved ethane conversion to ethylene and aromatics over a Zn/ZSM-5 and CaMnO3-δ composite catalyst

Abstract Ethane conversion to ethylene and aromatics over Zn/zeolite catalysts is a promising technology for efficient exploitation of light alkanes. However, the reaction faces two major hurdles including the limited ethane conversion due to thermodynamics and the drastic catalyst deactivation by kinetical coke accumulation. Here we present a route to improve ethane conversion using a composite catalyst, involving Zn/HZSM-5 for ethane dehydroaromatization and CaMnO3-δ perovskite for in situ selective hydrogen oxidation. The in situ H2 consumption shifts ethane dehydrogenation equilibrium to the desired side and can obviously increase the yield of target product. Furthermore, it is found that the in situ generated H2O through H2 combustion can significantly suppress the coke formation and consequently enhance the stability of the composite catalyst. After 400 min reaction, a product yield of 23% was retained over the composite catalyst, almost a threefold increase with respect to the Zn/HZSM-5 reference (8%). It is anticipated that this novel composite catalyst combined with an efficient reactor technology may improve the viability of ethane aromatization in utilization.