Catalytic Upgrading of n-Hexane and n-Octane for Light Hydrocarbons Production

Light hydrocarbon compounds are of great importance for direct usage as gaseous fuels or the production of petrochemicals. Therefore, their synthesis via catalytic upgrading of heavier hydrocarbons in the gasoline or diesel feedstock would be economically relevant. The current research developed a Mo2C/ZrO2 catalyst modified with Rh species for n-hexane and n-octane hydroconversion to light hydrocarbons (i.e. C1 to C4) at 450oC and 1 atm in a fixed-bed continuous flow reactor system. Both reactants produced similar conversions in the range of 18 to 20%, with more than 88% selectivity to the desired hydrocarbons. Mechanistically, the reaction was assumed to proceed via facile hydrogenolysis, involving the central and end C-C bonds. Overall, the catalyst could be considered industrial suitable but new parameters for improving catalytic conversion must be designed.