(683b) Molybdenum- Zeolite Catalysts for Conversion of Light Hydrocarbons to Fuels and Chemicals

Recent reports on methane dehydro-aromatization (Tessonnier et al. Catal. Comm. 8 (2007) 1787) have shown that careful catalyst preparation allowed for increased activity while completely suppressing deactivation by coke deposition. These findings are positioning the dehydro-aromatization of methane as an environment friendly reaction which could be used to convert both raw methane feedstocks and light hydrocarbons byproducts, which otherwise would be flared, into valuable aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene and toluene and fuel cell grade (CO-free) hydrogen. In addition, the dehydro-aromatization reaction does not require additional materials and can easily use nuclear, solar, or other heat sources. These factors make it a potentially advantageous alternative in support of the development of hybrid energy systems. The research reported here will present the comparison of catalyst preparation method, i.e., vaporization-reaction of molybdenum trioxide and incipient wetness with a molybdenum salt, on catalyst activity and stability. Temperature programmed oxidation and surface area analyses were used to identify potential routes to improved catalyst performance and regeneration alternatives.