Propene (propylene) is one of the most valuable feedstocks in the petrochemical industry, serving as a versatile building block for producing a variety of important polymers and chemicals. Demand for propene has been significantly increasing.

Chemical looping oxidative dehydrogenation (CLODH) employing solid oxygen carriers is a promising technology for the synthesis of propene from propane. It has the potential to offer many advantages over conventional propene production methods, particularly reduced energy consumption, lower emissions, safer operation, and less capital investment. However, designing an oxygen carrier with high selectivity for propene formation and high propane conversion has been challenging.

NETL’s Mg vanadates overcome the shortcomings of conventional oxygen carriers. They can be readily synthesized by standard chemical reactions. When used in a CLODH system comprised of oxydehydrogenation (ODH) and oxidation reactors, Mg vanadates exhibit efficient propene production from propane feedstock. These metal oxides displayd high performance in both fixed bed (42% propane conversion; 63% propene selectivity) and fluid bed (52% conversion; 65% selectivity) reactor platforms, superior to that of conventional oxygen carriers. The Mg vanadates also display a high oxygen transfer capacity (>10 wt%) and maintain their performance following multiple rounds of oxidation/reduction, indicating stability, an essential trait for chemical looping oxygen carriers.