Gas-phase hydrogenation of maleic anhydride to γ-butyrolactone at atmospheric pressure over Cu–CeO2–Al2O3 catalyst

Cu–CeO2–Al2O3 catalyst, prepared by co-precipitation method, was investigated for the gas-phase hydrogenation of maleic anhydride (MA) to γ-butyrolactone (GBL) at atmospheric pressure and the catalyst deactivation was also studied. Effects of catalyst composition, reaction temperature, and liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) of raw material on the catalytic performance of Cu–CeO2–Al2O3 catalyst were investigated. The catalyst (molar ratio of Cu:Ce:Al = 1:1:2) showed better catalytic performance, in which both the conversion of MA and the selectivity of GBL kept 100% within two hours under the reaction conditions of 6 mL catalyst, 0.1 MPa, 220–280 °C, 30 mL min−1 H2, 0.6 h−1 LHSV of 20 wt.% MA/GBL. As for Cu–CeO2–Al2O3 catalyst, smaller crystallite size of Cu and higher Cu surface area are favorable to increase its catalytic performance. The deactivation of Cu–CeO2–Al2O3 catalyst is due to formation of the compact wax-like deposition on the catalyst surface, which is probably ascribed to the strong adsorption of succinic anhydride and then polymerization on the catalyst surface. The catalytic performance of the regenerated catalyst can be recovered completely by the regeneration method of N2–air–H2 stage treatment.

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► Cu–CeO2–Al2O3 catalyst was prepared by co-precipitation method.
► The catalyst showed better catalytic performance.
► Small crystallite size of Cu and high Cu surface area of the catalyst are favorable.
► The catalyst deactivation is due to the compact wax-like surface deposition.
► The catalytic performance of the regenerated catalyst can be recovered completely.