Cyclohexane Dehydrogenation Using an Economical Iron Catalyst: Influence of Alumino-Silicate Structure on the Catalytic Activity

Abstract

The effect of mixing both local Egyptian hematitic ore and activated aluminosilicate material (bentonite clay) on the dehydrogenation activity of the former was studied.

Three mixtures were prepared in which bentonite percentages were 10, 20, and 40 wt%. Cyclohexane used as a model reactant for the catalytic dehydrogenation reaction carried out in catalytic flow system within reaction temperature ranged from 150 to 500°C in the presence of hydrogen stream (75 mL/min) and at constant space velocity 3.71 h⁻¹.

The results obtained indicated that in spite of the drop in the selectivity of the local material toward benzene formation by clay addition, a distinct increase in the benzene yield was observed. The maximum conversion attained ∼28.14% at reaction temperature 500°C using a mixture containing 20 wt% activated bentonite.

Keywords:

• dehydrogenation
• cyclohexane
• iron
• bentonite
• catalysis

Notes

^aIgnition loss (I.L.) as determined by burning a 1-g sample at 1000°C until constant weight is maintained.

(1) Volume of entrapped mercury calculated from mercury intrusion and extrusion curves.

(2) Volume of entrapped mercury calculated by using the semi-empirical alternatives to the Washburn equation.