High selectivity of TaSiBEA zeolite catalysts in 1,3-butadiene production from ethanol and acetaldehyde mixture

•TaSiBEA catalysts were prepared by Ta incorporation into zeolite framework.•Ta-containing zeolites were firstly studied in ethanol/acetaldehyde to 1,3-butadiene conversion.•1,3-Butadiene selectivity of 80–90% with yield of up to 43% was achieved.

New tantalum-silica based zeolite catalysts (TaSiBEA) were applied in this work for 1,3-butadiene production from ethanol. Tantalum incorporation into vacant T-atom sites of the SiBEA zeolites framework as mononuclear Ta(V) allowed preparing highly selective catalysts for ethanol/acetaldehyde mixture conversion into 1,3-butadiene, with selectivity to 1,3-butadiene of 80–90% at total conversion of the mixture of 45–30%. Effect of Ta content on activity of TaSiBEA zeolite catalysts and the ethanol/acetaldehyde molar ratio in selective production of 1,3-butadiene were demonstrated.

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