Vapor phase selective tetrahydrofuran production from dehydration of biomass derived 1,4-butanediol using ecofriendly red brick catalyst

Vapor phase catalytic dehydration of 1,4-BDO to tetrahydrofuran was investigated over activated red brick as green catalyst at 375 degrees C, exhibited highest THF selectivity 100% at complete conversion of 1,4-BDO under atmospheric pressure. The intrinsic catalytic activity of red brick catalyst was attributed to the synergy of higher Bronsted acidic sites and moderate Lewis acidic sites of SiO2 and Fe2O3, as confirmed by Pyridine FT-IR and NH3-TPD. The physico-chemical properties were evaluated from XRD, SEM-EDX, FT-IR, UV vis DRS, ICP-MS and XRF techniques. The high catalytic efficiency was confirmed through steady time-on-stream and activity comparison studies against conventional catalysts.