Disclosed are methods of dehydrogenating a light alkane gas (and/or light alkene gas), which include adding hydrogen (H.sub.2) to the light alkane gas (and/or light alkene gas) in the presence of a catalyst composition containing zirconium oxide. Also disclosed are catalyst compositions containing zirconium oxide and methods of preparation thereof, where the catalyst compositions are useful in methods of dehydrogenating light alkane gas.

Disclosed are methods of dehydrogenating a light alkane gas (and/or light alkene gas), which include adding hydrogen (H.sub.2) to the light alkane gas (and/or light alkene gas) in the presence of a catalyst composition containing zirconium oxide. Also disclosed are catalyst compositions containing zirconium oxide and methods of preparation thereof, where the catalyst compositions are useful in methods of dehydrogenating light alkane gas.

The invention relates to a catalyst composition suitable for the dehydrogenation of paraffins having 2-8 carbon atoms comprising zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, optionally further comprising oxides of cerium (Ce), dysprosium (Dy), erbium (Er), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), lanthanum (La), neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), samarium (Sm), terbium (Tb), ytterbium (Yb), yttrium (Y), tungsten (W) and Zirconium (Zr) or mixtures thereof, wherein said catalyst composition is substantially free of chromium and platinum. The catalysts possess unique combinations of activity, selectivity, and stability. Methods for preparing improved dehydrogenation catalysts and a process for dehydrogenating paraffins having 2-8 carbon atoms, comprising contacting the mixed metal oxide catalyst with paraffins are also described. The catalyst may also be disposed on a porous support in an attrition-resistant form and used in a fluidized bed reactor.

The invention relates to a catalyst composition suitable for the dehydrogenation of paraffins having 2-8 carbon atoms comprising zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, optionally further comprising oxides of cerium (Ce), dysprosium (Dy), erbium (Er), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), lanthanum (La), neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), samarium (Sm), terbium (Tb), ytterbium (Yb), yttrium (Y), tungsten (W) and Zirconium (Zr) or mixtures thereof, wherein said catalyst composition is substantially free of chromium and platinum. The catalysts possess unique combinations of activity, selectivity, and stability. Methods for preparing improved dehydrogenation catalysts and a process for dehydrogenating paraffins having 2-8 carbon atoms, comprising contacting the mixed metal oxide catalyst with paraffins are also described. The catalyst may also be disposed on a porous support in an attrition-resistant form and used in a fluidized bed reactor.

A multi-stage dehydrogenation process including contacting, in a first stage, a feed stream comprising a hydrocarbon and steam with a dehydrogenation catalyst under dehydrogenation conditions to yield a first stage effluent, heating the first stage effluent, and contacting, in a second stage, the heated first stage effluent with a dehydrogenation catalyst under dehydrogenation conditions to yield a second stage effluent comprising a dehydrogenation product, wherein the first stage includes a first reactor and a second reactor arranged in parallel, and wherein the second stage includes a third reactor connected in series with the first reactor and the second reactor. A multi-stage dehydrogenation system for carrying out dehydrogenation is also provided.

A multi-stage dehydrogenation process including contacting, in a first stage, a feed stream comprising a hydrocarbon and steam with a dehydrogenation catalyst under dehydrogenation conditions to yield a first stage effluent, heating the first stage effluent, and contacting, in a second stage, the heated first stage effluent with a dehydrogenation catalyst under dehydrogenation conditions to yield a second stage effluent comprising a dehydrogenation product, wherein the first stage includes a first reactor and a second reactor arranged in parallel, and wherein the second stage includes a third reactor connected in series with the first reactor and the second reactor. A multi-stage dehydrogenation system for carrying out dehydrogenation is also provided.

Disclosed are catalyst compositions containing cobalt II cations (Co2+) on a support. In embodiments, the catalyst compositions are free of chromium and/or a precious metal. Also disclosed are methods of preparing such catalyst compositions and methods of using such catalyst compositions, for example, to dehydrogenate light alkane and/or light alkene gas.

Oxidative dehydrogenation catalysts comprising MoVNbTeO having improved consistency of composition and a 25% conversion of ethylene at less than 420° C. and a selectivity to ethylene above 95% are prepared by treating the catalyst precursor with H.sub.2O.sub.2 in an amount equivalent to 0.30-2.8 mL H.sub.2O.sub.2 of a 30% solution per gram of catalyst precursor prior to calcining and treating the resulting catalyst with the equivalent amount of peroxide after calcining.

A process of catalytically dehydrogenating an alkane to an alkene, using Cr.sub.2O.sub.3 as a catalyst, where the catalyst is oxidized to CrO.sub.3 during the dehydrogenation, and is regenerated by using CO as a reducing gas. In regenerating the catalyst with CO, CO.sub.2 is produced, which may be fed to a dehydrogenation reactor with the alkane and reacted with H.sub.2 produced by the dehydrogenation, to form CO and H.sub.2O by the reverse water-gas shift reaction.

A process of catalytically dehydrogenating an alkane to an alkene, using Cr.sub.2O.sub.3 as a catalyst, where the catalyst is oxidized to CrO.sub.3 during the dehydrogenation, and is regenerated by using CO as a reducing gas. In regenerating the catalyst with CO, CO.sub.2 is produced, which may be fed to a dehydrogenation reactor with the alkane and reacted with H.sub.2 produced by the dehydrogenation, to form CO and H.sub.2O by the reverse water-gas shift reaction.