A catalyst composition for converting an alcohol to olefins, the catalyst composition comprising the following components: (a) a support (e.g., particles) comprising silicon and oxygen; (b) at least one of copper and silver residing on and/or incorporated into said support; and (c) at least one lanthanide element residing on and/or incorporated into said support. The catalyst may also further include component (d), which is zinc. Also described herein is a method for converting an alcohol to one or more olefinic compounds (an olefin fraction) by contacting the alcohol with a catalyst at a temperature of at least 100° C. and up to 500° C. to result in direct conversion of the alcohol to an olefin fraction containing one or more olefinic compounds containing at least three carbon atoms; wherein ethylene and propylene are produced in a minor proportion of the olefin fraction, and butenes and higher olefins are produced in major proportion.

Processes for converting methane into an olefin and methanol are provided. The olefin can be ethylene. Certain exemplary processes can involve parallel use of both steam reforming of methane and oxidative dry reforming of methane to prepare syngas. The processes can further involve conversion of syngas to ethylene and to methanol.

A fuel synthesis catalyst of an embodiment for hydrogenating a gas includes at least one selected from the group consisting of; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, the catalyst comprising, an oxide base material containing at least one oxide selected from the group consisting of; Al.sub.2O.sub.3, MgO, TiO.sub.2, and SiO.sub.2, first metal particles containing at least one metal selected from the group consisting of; Ni, Co, Fe, and Cu and brought into contact with the oxide base material, and a porous oxide layer containing at least one selected from the group consisting of; CeO.sub.2, ZrO.sub.2, TiO.sub.2, and SiO.sub.2 and having an interface with each of the first metal particles and the oxide base material.

The invention relates to a catalyst for preparation of butadiene by oxydehydrogenation of butene in a fluidized bed reactor, a method of preparing the same, and use of the same, wherein a method according to an embodiment of the invention comprises: reacting a metal precursor with an alkaline substance to obtain a slurry containing insoluble compound, followed by filtering and washing the slurry; adding a binder and deionized water, followed by agitation to regulate the solid content of the slurry to 10-50%; subjecting the slurry to spray drying granulation, wherein the temperature at the feed port is controlled between 200-400° C., and the temperature at the discharge port is controlled between 100-160° C., to obtain catalyst microspheres; and drying the catalyst microspheres at 80-200° C. for 1-24 h, and then calcining the catalyst microspheres at 500-900° C. for 4-24 h to obtain a catalyst having a general formula of FeXaYbZcOd, comprising Fe, Mg, Zn, Bi, Mo, Mn, Ni, Co, Ba, Ca, and other metals. The catalyst microspheres prepared according to the exemplary method exhibit high mobility, desirable particle size distribution, extremely high mechanical strength and catalytic activity, and are applicable to industrial production of butadiene by oxydehydrogenation of butene in a fluidized bed. When this catalyst is used to prepare butadiene by oxydehydrogenation of butene, the yield of butadiene is 76-86%, and the selectivity to butadiene is 94-97%.

A method for producing butadiene, the method including: a first synthesis step of bringing a mixed gas containing hydrogen and carbon monoxide into contact with a first catalyst to obtain a primary product containing ethanol as an intermediate; and a second synthesis step of bringing the primary product into contact with a second catalyst to obtain butadiene.

A catalyst composition for converting an alcohol to olefins, the catalyst composition comprising the following components: (a) a support (e.g., particles) comprising silicon and oxygen; (b) at least one of copper and silver residing on and/or incorporated into said support; and (c) at least one lanthanide element residing on and/or incorporated into said support. The catalyst may also further include component (d), which is zinc. Also described herein is a method for converting an alcohol to one or more olefinic compounds (an olefin fraction) by contacting the alcohol with a catalyst at a temperature of at least 100° C. and up to 500° C. to result in direct conversion of the alcohol to an olefin fraction containing one or more olefinic compounds containing at least three carbon atoms; wherein ethylene and propylene are produced in a minor proportion of the olefin fraction, and butenes and higher olefins are produced in major proportion.

The invention relates to a method for converting a gas into methane (CH.sub.4) which includes: a step of activating a catalytic material including praseodymium oxide (Pr.sub.6O.sub.11) associated with nickel oxide (NiO) and alumina (Al.sub.2O.sub.3), the respective proportions of which are, relative to the total mass of these three compounds: Pr.sub.6O.sub.11: 1 wt % to 20 wt %, NiO: 1 wt % to 20 wt %, and Al.sub.2O.sub.3: 60 to 98 wt %; and a step of passing a gas including at least one carbon monoxide (CO) over the activated catalytic material.

Disclosed are novel catalyst compositions, catalyst precursors, processes for making catalyst precursors, processes for making catalyst compositions, and processes for converting syngas. The catalytic component in the catalyst composition can comprise a metal carbide and/or a metal nitride. This disclosure is particularly useful for converting syngas via the Fischer-Tropsch reactions to make olefins and/or alcohols.

In one aspect, the disclosure relates to an oxygen-deficient mixed metal perovskite having the formula Sr.sub.xA.sub.1-xFe.sub.yB.sub.1-yO.sub.3-δ, wherein A can be Ca, K, Y, Ba, La, Sm, or any combination thereof; wherein B can be Co, Cu, Mn, Mg, Ni, Ti, or any combination thereof; wherein x is from 0 to 1; wherein y is from 0 to 1; and wherein δ is from 0 to 0.7. Also disclosed are redox catalysts comprising the oxygen-deficient mixed metal perovskites and methods for chemical looping air separation, chemical looping CO.sub.2 splitting, and chemical looping alkane conversion using the disclosed catalysts.

Provided is a dehydrogenating catalyst that is capable of preventing or reducing coking and improving the yield of an olefin in a pyrolysis reaction of a hydrocarbon raw material. A dehydrogenating catalyst (4A) for production of an olefin contains, as a catalyst component, at least one of La and Ce, wherein, when the dehydrogenating catalyst (4A) does not contain Ce, the dehydrogenating catalyst (4A) contains at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ba, Fe, and Mn, or wherein, when the dehydrogenating catalyst (4A) contains Ce, the dehydrogenating catalyst (4A) contains at least one of Fe and Mn.