Development of a procedure for preparing and testing molybdena-alumina catalysts for olefin disproportionation

An investigation was undertaken to develop a procedure for preparing molybdena-alumina catalysts for olefin disproportionation and to develop equipment and procedures for exploratory testing of the catalysts. A reproducible procedure for preparing molybdena-alumina catalysts was developed. This procedure consisted of impregnating Harshaw Al-0104-T, 1/8 inch alumina catalyst pellets with 10 to 30 percent aqueous ammonium molybdate solutions at 210 °F. The impregnated pellets were placed in the reactor, dried for three hours at 250 to 300 °F and were activated at 1000 °F for five hours. Dry nitrogen was passed over the catalysts during drying and activation. A reaction system was designed, constructed, and operated to perform exploratory tests on the catalysts. The reactor was constructed from 3/8 inch stainless steel tubing and packed with approximately 5.8 grams of catalyst for each test. The reactor was operated at pressures of 30 to 170 pounds per square inch, gage, at temperatures of 250 to 550 °F and at a weight hourly space velocity of 1.1 gram of feed per hour per gram of catalyst. The reaction products were analyzed by gas chromatography. The catalysts prepared during this investigation gave disproportionation of propylene to ethylene and 2-butene. Ethylene and 2-butene were formed in approximately equimolar quantities. Maximum conversion was found to occur in the temperature range from 300 to 400 °F. Conversion up to 30 percent was obtained using the catalysts prepared during this investigation. Limited data indicated conversion to be independent of pressure in the range of 30 to 170 pounds per square inch, gage. The catalysts were found to deactivate with time-on-stream. Due to the limited data taken, no quantitative conclusions were reached as to the rate of deactivation.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Chemical Engineering

Department dc:contributor.department

Chemical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Polytechnic Institute

Year dc:date.issued

1966

Author dc:creator

• Lewis, Michael Justin

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10919/101377

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/101377