Bio-mass conversion has attracted increasing research interests to produce bio-fuels with bio-ethanol being a major product. Development of advanced processes to further upgrade bio-ethanol to other value added fuels or chemicals are pivotal to improving the economics of biomass conversion and deversifying the utilization of biomass resources. In this paper, for the first time, we report the direct conversion of bio-ethanol to isobutene with high yield (~83%) on a multifunctional ZnxZryOz mixed oxide with a dedicated balance of surface acid-base properties. This work illustrates the significance of rational design of a multifunctional mixed oxide catalyst for one step bio-ethanol conversion to a value-added intermediate, isobutene, for chemical and fuel production. This work was supported by the US Department of Energy Basic Energy Sciences' Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is operated by Battelle for the US Department of Energy.
Revised: July 25, 2011 |
Published: June 17, 2011
Citation
Sun J., K. Zhu, F. Gao, C.M. Wang, J. Liu, C.H. Peden, and Y. Wang. 2011.Direct Conversion of Bio-ethanol to Isobutene on Nanosized ZnxZryOz Mixed Oxides with Balanced Acid–Base Sites.Journal of the American Chemical Society 133, no. 29:11096–11099.PNNL-SA-77425.doi:10.1021/ja204235v