Evaluation of copper supported on polymeric spherical activated carbon in the ethylbenzene dehydrogenation

Activated carbons have found several applications as catalysts and as catalytic supports. They can be useful in the ethylbenzene dehydrogenation to produce styrene, a high value chemical. In order to produce alternative catalysts for this reaction, the preparation of spherical activated carbon-supported copper was studied in this work. Solids with two different amounts of copper were prepared, characterized and evaluated in the ethylbenzene dehydrogenation in the presence of carbon dioxide. It was noted that some copper species were weakly adsorbed on the solid and were removed from the solid during the reaction causing the collapse of the structure. The weakly bonded copper species did not affect the activity but improved the yield to styrene and decreased the production of benzene and toluene. On the other hand, the more strongly bonded species contributed to the activity and to the stability of the catalyst. The solid with the lowest amount of copper was the most promising one, since it showed high activity and resistance against deactivation, being able to work up to 600 °C.