2022 Volume 95 Issue 2 Pages 34-39
The development of highly active catalysts for the conversion of ethanol to 1,3-butadiene using high-throughput system was described. Assuming a two-stage reactor for converting ethanol to acetaldehyde and an ethanol/acetaldehyde to 1,3-butadiene, we conducted rapid screening for the optimal catalyst for each reaction with high-throughput catalyst preparation and evaluation systems. We found that using Ag/SiO2 and HfO2/SiO2 as catalysts in the first- and second-stage reactors, respectively, resulted in high 1,3-butadiene productivity(99% ethanol conversion and 63% 1,3-butadiene selectivity). The butadiene produced here was collected, purified, and polymerized to butadiene rubber. The rubber was applied to produce PCR tires with sustainable materials.
