M. Richter et al., ISOMERIZATION OF N-BUTANE TO ISO-BUTANE OVER BIFUNCTIONAL CATALYSTS ON THE BASIS OF MEDIUM PORE MOLECULAR-SIEVES SAPO-31 AND SAPO-11, Reaction kinetics and catalysis letters, 53(2), 1994, pp. 309-316
Isomerization of n-butane over bifunctional Pd-impregnated catalyst pe
llets consisting of molecular sieve SAPO-31 or SAPO-11 and a silica bi
nder has been investigated. Pd/SAPO-31 converts n-butane to iso-butane
at temperatures of 700-725 K with good selectivities (more than 70% a
t conversion levels of 35-40%). The high activity is attributed to the
outstanding properties of medium pore SAPOs for catalyzing the skelet
al isomerization of intermediate butenes, which is considered to be th
e critical step in the reaction sequence.