Dehydrogenations in fluidized bed: Catalysis and reactor engineering

Dehydrogenation is a widely exploited route for large scale production of pure olefins. Its industrial application is however complicated by clashing kinetic and thermodynamic constraints. A commercial bubbling fluidized bed technology for isobutylene production from isobutane has been developed to solve these constraints. An economically attractive implementation was achieved by defining an optimal synergy between chromia alumina catalyst design and reactor engineering. The fluidized bed know-how developed has also led to the development of a revolutionary technology for the production of styrene from ethylbenzene using a riser reactor and a gallium based catalyst.

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► Isobutane is dehydrogenated to isobutylene in a bubbling fluidized bed process, with Ch/alumina catalyst.
► For the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene a Ga/alumina catalyst has been developed.
► Since Ga/alumina is much more active a riser configuration of the reactor has been developed.
► Integration of catalyst design and reactor engineering is the basis for the development of commercial technologies.