Dehydrogenation of methanol over copper-containing catalysts

Abstract The catalytic properties in methanol dehydrogenation of copper metal formed as a result of reduction by hydrogen of copper-containing oxides with different structure: copper chromite (tetragonally distorted spinel), copper hydroxysilicate (Chrysocolla), and copper-zinc hydroxysilicate (Zincsilite) have been studied. This process proceeds via successive reactions: (I) 2CH 3 OH=CH 3 OOCH+2H 2 and (II) CH 3 OOCH=2CO+2H 2 . The methyl formate selectivity for the catalysts studied was close to 1.0 at low methanol conversion, X ≤0.1, where the dehydrogenation process is represented by reaction (I), occurring far from its equilibrium. At 0.2≤ X ≤0.55, the selectivity decreases with increasing conversion, and the ratio of the activities in successive reactions may serve as a comparative characteristic for the catalysts. At high conversions, when reaction (I) is close to its equilibrium, selectivity is independent of the properties of studied catalysts and depends on the methanol conversion. Reaction (I) shows low sensitivity to the state of metal copper of reduced catalysts and, hence, low sensitivity to the composition and structure of oxides-precursors. The catalysts’ activity in reaction (II) greatly depends on the state of metal copper in the catalysts. It was assumed that the catalyst activity in methyl formate conversion to CO and H 2 and, hence, the selectivity of methanol dehydrogenation with respect to methyl formate in the region of moderate methanol conversion depends on the strength of interaction between metal copper particles and catalyst oxide surface, which is determined by the composition and structure of oxide-precursor.