Deactivation and regeneration of alkane dehydrogenation catalysts

A study of the deactivation and regeneration of a Pt/alumina catalyst used for propane dehydrogenation has shown that initially the deposit is made up of C-1 fragments, which age to form polycyclic aromatics. Both surface hydrogen and carbon can exchange with the gas phase; however, some of the carbon cannot be removed from the metal function by treatment in oxygen at 873 K. As the catalyst ages it becomes increasingly selective to propene, indicating that the carbonaceous deposit has a major role in defining the selectivity and the activity of the catalyst.