METO
Project leader: Prof. Jan J. Weigand,
Faculty of Chemistry and Food Chemistry, TU Dresden
Title: Investigation of the direct catalytic conversion of methanol and ethanol to propylene
Project description: In the context of climate change, dropping ethanol price and rising demand and price for ethylene and propylene, the development of new sustainable on-purpose methods for conversion of ethylene, (bio-)ethanol and methanol to “green” propylene and other olefins is a major task for this decade. Compared to “green” ethylene by Braskem for polymers industry, new methods to produce propylene and follow-up products for PP, PEG etc. have attracted considerable attention.
From the current state of catalytic direct and hydrocarbon pool conversion of alcohols on zeolites, two major economic questions arise: (i) For different process conditions and catalyst materials, which conversion routes promote the desired product formation of propylene from methanol or ethanol? (ii) Which catalyst properties promote the desired conversion routes to a selective production of propylene from methanol, ethanol or both in mixture?
In a more scientific point of view, the following questions will be investigated more deeply: (iii) Which catalytic surface reaction steps and which interdependent kinetics are necessary for a selective propylene formation? (iv) From thermodynamics, which process routes are dominantly driven by enthalpy, which by entropy and which are re-directed by pore geometry and morphology?
The work program is splitted into zeolite synthesis and characterization, catalytic testing and mechanistic evaluation experiments. Despite to current discussions, it should reveal a dynamic competition of different direct and hydrocarbon pool formation routes to propylene, in contrast to total exclusion of certain routes. The knowledge-based control of the conversion routes in a mixed alcohol conversion of methanol and ethanol to olefins (METO) will enable to design suitable catalysts for industry.
Term: 01.05.2022 - 30.04.2025
