Catalytic Production of Bio-derived Chemicals

Large-scale petrochemicals are typically produced using petroleum olefins as a feedstock. The desire to move toward a sustainable and environmentally friendly chemical industry has lead to interest in the use of bio-derived feedstocks such as alcohols which are currently being produced on an increasingly large scale by fermentation or from synthesis gas. The proposed research will investigate the direct catalytic production of ethylene, ethylene dichloride (EDC), and ethylene oxide (EO) from bio-ethanol. Two approaches were considered: a) the use of a bi-functional catalyst that combines the dehydration capability with ethylene conversion and b) the use of a double catalytic bed system where bio-ethanol is dehydrated over the 1stbed and the product ethylene is converted over the 2ndbed to yield the desired petrochemical product.