Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene under industrially relevant conditions: on the role of catalyst structure and texture on selectivity and stability

Styrene (ST), an important bulk chemical for amongst others polystyrene production, is industrially produced by the direct dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene (EB) using steam at 580-630 °C. The process suffers from high energy consumption and low conversion per pass because of equilibrium limitations. As such, there is an on-going effort to identify improved styrene production processes. An example is the oxidative dehydrogenation process. However, commercial operation has not been realised yet and considerable research and development activities are required in the field of heterogeneous catalysis engineering.
The general aim of the research described in this thesis is to develop improved heterogeneous catalysts based on commercial supports such as aluminas, silicas, alumina-silicas, zeolites, and carbon-based materials for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene under industrially relevant conditions. The main purpose is to improve styrene selectivity and stability, and to establish structure-performance relationships. New catalysts with improved performance have been identified and a better understanding of the key features of the catalysts has been established.