Effect of calcium and potassium on V2O5/ZrO2 catalyst for oxidative dehydrogenation of propane: a comparative study

The effect of calcium and potassium on the physiochemical properties and performance of V2O5/ZrO2 catalyst for oxidative dehydrogenation of propane was studied in the temperature range of 385–400 °C. The vanadia loading was kept constant at 5 VOx/nm2 and the atomic ratio A/V (A=Ca, K) was varied from 0.05 to 0.75. The vanadia surface structure was investigated using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The redox property of the catalysts was studied by temperature programmed reduction (TPR) and temperature programmed oxidation (TPO) whereas surface acidity was measured by temperature programmed desorption (TPD) of ammonia. Calcium and potassium both interact with the surface V=O and stabilize the +5 oxidation state of vanadium. Interaction between calcium and vanadium was more intense though surface concentration of calcium was lower than that of potassium. For doped catalysts, the activity was lower due to an increase in reduction temperature as well as a lower extent of reduction and increased resistance to undergo redox cycles. On the other hand, removal of surface acidic sites by the dopants increased the propene selectivity. Potassium was more effective in decreasing the activity and increasing the propene selectivity.