Zirconia supported Cu systems as catalysts for n-butanol conversion to butyraldehyde

A promising alternative for the production of butyraldehyde is the use of n-butanol as raw material. This alcohol can be produced via fermentation from renewable resources. n-Butanol can be converted to butyraldehyde by dehydrogenation or by partial oxidation and for both reactions Cu catalysts show activity. In this work, Cu supported on both pure ZrO2 and ZrO2 modified with CeO2 catalysts were studied in these two catalytic reactions. The catalytic performance and the catalysts characterization (ICP, N2-physisorption, XRD, TPR, and XPS) suggest that the catalyst with the best Cu dispersion was the most active and stable in n-butanol dehydrogenation. However, in n-butanol partial oxidation, the initial dispersion of Cu on the supports is deteriorated during the time on stream, being Cu sintering and oxidation the main causes of the lower butyraldehyde yield observed in this catalytic process.

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► A novel ways of a butyraldehyde production in gas phase: n-butanol partial oxidation and dehydrogenation.
► Effective (high yield and selectivity) n-butanol conversion to butyraldehyde in dehydrogenation process.
► Higher coke deposition and higher Cu dispersion losses were observed under partial oxidation conditions.