Performance of Ce-modified CuZnAl catalyst in the dehydrogenation of sec-butanol to methyl ethyl ketone

The CuZnAl catalyst prepared by co-precipitation was further modified with different contents of Ce through impregnation and used in the dehydrogenation of sec-butanol (SBA) to methyl ethyl ketone (MEK); the effect of Ce modification on the performance of CuZnAl catalyst was investigated. The results illustrate that the introduction of Ce in CuZnAl can promote the formation of CuAl2O4 spinel and thus improve the stability of Ce-modified CuZnAl catalyst; meanwhile, Ce is also conducive to reducing the grain size, enhancing the dispersion of CuO and ZnO, lowering the reduction temperature, and increasing the content of Cu2+ and consequently the content of active Cu0 species upon reduction. Over the Ce-modified 8%-Ce-CuZnAl catalyst, the conversion of SBA reaches 91.4% under 240 ℃ and a mass space velocity of 5 h−1, with a selectivity of 96% to MEK; during the 100 h reaction test, the SBA conversion keeps at about 92%, with the selectivity to MEK at about 96%, demonstrating excellent stability of the Ce-modified CuZnAl catalyst. Copyright ©2021 Editorial Dept. of Journal of Fuel Chemistry and Technology. All rights reserved.