Induction heating for dehydrogenation and dehydration reactions

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a system and method that has been developed that includes heating a reactor with an induction heater. The reactor includes a single catalyst bed including a catalyst and a ferromagnetic material. The system also includes an induction heater that is configured to heat the single catalyst bed.

Description

Docket No. 39425-377INDUCTION HEATING FOR DEHYDROGENATION AND DEHYDRATION REACTIONSCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

[0001] The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 691,770 filed on September 6, 2024. The entire contents of which is incorporated in its entirety.FIELD OF INVENTION

[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to the field of catalytic systems including a single catalyst bed including an induction heater to influence the temperature of the catalyst bed.BACKGROUND

[0003] Chemical manufacturing predominantly relies on fossil fuels as an energy source to provide heat for the reactions, which is one source of greenhouse gas emissions. With the increased global demand for chemical products, there is an urgency to use low-carbon emitting technologies in the chemical industry, which has led to a push towards utilizing renewable electricity as the primary source for process energy, replacing traditional fossil fuels. Some of the alternative sources include electrochemical processes or electrification of heating processes, such as resistive heating, induction heating, or microwave heating.

[0004] Moreover, some of these processes require the use of a catalyst. The choice of catalyst depends on various factors, such as the desired product distribution, reaction conditions, and catalyst stability.

[0005] Therefore, there is a need in the art to develop a sy stem having a more efficient use of the heating supplied to a reactor in combination with a catalyst.SUMMARY

[0006] In an embodiment, a system is provided. The system includes a reactor including a single catalyst bed; and an induction heater, wherein the single catalyst bed may include a catalyst and a ferromagnetic material.

[0007] In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material comprises cobalt, iron, nickel, carbides, steel, stainless steel, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may be a nanomaterial, powder, pellet, honeycomb, isotropic form, anisotropic form, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may be a powder. In some embodiments, the powder may have a particle size of about 1 nm to about 500 pm.Docket No. 39425-377

[0008] In some embodiments, the catalyst may include a catalytic component and a support, wherein the catalytic component may include silicon, a metal, a transition metal, a transition metal oxide, an alkali metal, an alkali earth metal, carbon, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the transition metal comprises platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), rhodium (Rh), ruthenium (Ru), iridium (Ir), or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the metal may include silver (Ag), copper (Cu), titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the transition metal oxide may include an iron oxide (Fe20s), chromium oxide (CnCF or CrCh), zinc oxide (ZnO), or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the support may include an oxide, carbon, an aluminate, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the support may include zirconia, ceria, titania, zinc oxide, iron oxide, silicon, carbon, aluminum oxide, aluminosilicate, borosilicate, magnesium silicate, or a combination thereof.

[0009] In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may be impregnated with the catalyst, coprecipitated with the catalyst, embedded in a catalytic component, or mixed in the single catalyst bed, or a combination thereof.

[0010] In some embodiments, the induction heater may be configured to heat the single catalyst bed to an average temperature of about 20°C to about 1300°C.

[0011] In some embodiments, the reactor may be configured to be at a pressure of about 0.1 bar to about 300 bar.

[0012] In some embodiments, the single catalyst bed may be configured to perform hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, reduction, halogenation, hydrohalogenation, nitration, sulfonation, alkylation, acylation, esterification, polymerization, depolymerization, isomerization, cracking, amination, hydrolysis, condensation, cycloadditions, reforming, or dehydration reactions.

[0013] In some embodiments, the catalyst may include at least about 5 wt% of copper oxide.

[0014] In some embodiments, the catalyst may include silicon oxide and is present in an amount from about 5 wt% to about 100 wt%, based on total weight of the catalyst.

[0015] In some embodiments, the catalyst may include manganese oxide and is present in an amount from above 0 wt% to about 20 wt%, based on total weight of the catalyst.

[0016] In some embodiments, the catalyst may include aluminum oxide and is present in an amount from about 5 wt% to about 100 wt%, based on total weight of the catalyst.

[0017] In some embodiments, the catalyst may include a zirconium component. In some embodiments, the zirconium component may include zirconium oxide. In some embodiments, the zirconium component may be present in an amount from about 4 wt% to about 50 wt%, based on total weight of the catalyst.Docket No. 39425-377

[0018] In some embodiments, the reactor may be configured to receive a feed of educt, optionally mixed with an inert gas or solvent.

[0019] In some embodiments, the reactor may be configured to receive a feed of ethanol optionally mixed with an inert gas. In some embodiments, the single catalyst bed may be configured to perform an ethanol dehydrogenation reaction. In some embodiments, the ethanol dehydrogenation reaction may produce 1,3 -butadiene. In some embodiments, the reaction may have about 15% to about 100% selectivity to a C4 product.

[0020] In some embodiments, the catalyst may further include at least about 0.5 wt% of the ferromagnetic material.

[0021] In some embodiments, the single catalyst bed may be configured to perform a propane dehydrogenation reaction.

[0022] In some embodiments, the reactor may be configured to receive a feed of propane optionally mixed with an inert gas. In some embodiments, the propane dehydrogenation reaction may produce propylene. In some embodiments, the reaction may have about 60% to about 100% selectivity to propylene.

[0023] In some embodiments, the single catalyst bed may be configured to perform an ethanol- to-acetone reaction. In some embodiments, the reactor may be configured to receive a feed of ethanol, water, and optionally mixed with an inert gas. In some embodiments, the reaction may produce acetone. In some embodiments, the reaction may have about 5 to about 100% selectivity to acetone.

[0024] In some embodiments of the system, the inert gas may include nitrogen, argon, or helium.

[0025] In another embodiment, a method for converting ethanol into a C4 product is provided. The method includes feeding ethanol to a reactor including a single catalyst bed, and heating the reactor via an induction heater, wherein the single catalyst bed includes a catalyst including a catalytic component and a support, wherein the catalytic component includes cobalt (Co), aluminum (Al), or a metal. In some embodiments, the metal may include silver (Ag), copper (Cu), titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the support may include silicon, carbon, aluminum oxide, aluminosilicate, borosilicate, magnesium silicate, or a combination thereof.

[0026] In some embodiments, the induction heater may include a ferromagnetic material. In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may include cobalt, iron, nickel, steel, stainless steel, or a combination thereof.Docket No. 39425-377

[0027] In some embodiments, the induction heater may heat the single catalyst bed to an average temperature of about 150°C to about 1000°C. In some embodiments, the method may be performed at a pressure of about 0.1 bar to about 100 bar.

[0028] In another embodiment, a method for converting propanol into a C3 product is provided. The method may include feeding propanol to a reactor comprising a single catalyst bed; and heating the reactor via an induction heater, wherein the single catalyst bed includes a catalyst comprising a catalytic component and a support, wherein the catalytic component includes cobalt (Co), aluminum, a metal, or a transition metal. In some embodiments, the transition metal may include Pt, Pd, Rh, Ru, or Ir. In some embodiments, the metal may include Ag, Cu, Ti, Zr, Zn, Fe, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the support may include silicon, carbon, aluminum oxide, aluminosilicate, borosilicate, magnesium silicate, or a combination thereof.

[0029] In some embodiments, the induction heater may include a ferromagnetic material. In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may include Co, Fe, Ni, steel, and stainless steel.

[0030] In some embodiments, the induction heater may heat the single catalyst bed to an average temperature of about 150°C to about 800°C. In some embodiments, the method may be performed at a pressure of about 0.1 bar to about 100 bar.

[0031] In another embodiment, a method for converting ethanol into acetone is provided. The method may include feeding an ethanol-water mixture to a reactor including a single catalyst bed; and heating the reactor via an induction heater, wherein the single catalyst bed includes a catalyst comprising a metal oxide, and a ferromagnetic material. In some embodiments, the metal oxide may include iron oxide, zinc oxide, or a combination thereof.

[0032] In some embodiments, the induction heater may include a ferromagnetic material. In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may include Co, Fe, Ni, steel, stainless steel, or a combination thereof.

[0033] In some embodiments, the induction heater may heat the single catalyst bed to an average temperature of about 150°C to about 800°C. In some embodiments, the method may be performed at a pressure of about 0. 1 bar to about 100 bar.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0034] The disclosure described herein is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the accompanying figures.

[0035] FIG. 1 a-b illustrates the Co activity under the reaction conditions with the conventional furnace heater and selectivity in the reactionDocket No. 39425-377

[0036] FIG. 2a-c illustrates the time-on-stream (TOS) of the ethanol conversion (2a), acetaldehyde selectivity (2b), and acetaldehyde yield (2c) at temperatures of 215 °C, 225 °C, 235 °C, and 245 °C with both induction heating and furnace heating.

[0037] FIG. 3a-3c illustrates the results of ethanol conversion, and acetaldehyde selectivity and yield for 15 h at WHSVs of 0.6 h1and 1.2 h1with induction heating.

[0038] FIG. 4a illustrates the ethyl acetate selectivity over time with induction heating at differing WHSVs; and FIG. 4b illustrates acetone selectivity over time with induction heating at differing WHSVs.

[0039] FIG. 5a-c illustrates the results of ethanol conversion, and acetaldehyde selectivity and yield for 15 h at WHSVs of 0.6 h'1and 1.2 h'1with furnace heating.

[0040] FIG. 6a illustrates the ethyl acetate selectivity over time with furnace heating at differing WHSVs; and FIG. 6b illustrates acetone selectivity over time with furnace heating at differing WHSVs.

[0041] Fig. 7a-b shows the oscillations that occurred in the liquid pump.

[0042] Fig. 8 show s the difference in flow rates in the liquid pump.

[0043] FIG. 9 illustrates the rate-determining step (RDS) for non-oxidative ethanol dehydrogenation to acetaldehyde over supported Cu catalysts.

[0044] Fig. 10 a-b shows the Arrhenius plots of acetaldehyde formation for furnace heating and induction heating, respectively.

[0045] Fig. 11 a-b shows the temperature profile inside the Co heating layers and the catalyst bed in the reactor w ith COMSOL Multiphysics of the Example.

[0046] Fig. 12 shows the temperature gradient inside the catalyst bed as described in the Examples.

[0047] Fig. 13a-c illustrates a notable improvement in ethanol conversion and a slower deactivation rate w ith the new design of the Example.

[0048] Fig. 14a-b compares the results of furnace heating and alternative induction heating designs of the Examples.

[0049] Fig. 15 shows the TGA results of the Example.

[0050] Fig. 16 displays the XRD patterns of the spent, reduced, and fresh catalysts w ithin the 29 range of 20° - 90°.

[0051] Fig. 17a-b shows the raw data of the XRD pattern of Fig. 16.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] Current reaction systems utilize a traditional furnace to heat the reactors within the system. This method of heating has several shortcomings including nonuniform heatingDocket No. 39425-377 distribution and lower catalysis selectivity. In the present disclosure, it has been found that including an induction heater improves the selectivity and efficiency of the heating within the reactor. An induction heater includes an alternating electromagnetic field that interacts with unpaired electron spins of ferromagnetic materials, generating a strong magnetic energy. The absorbed magnetic energy may be released as heat due to the hysteresis losses, allowing direct heating of the materials and the catalysts to be operated under a kinetically controlled regime. When compared to conventional furnace heating, induction heating offers several advantages: (1) instantaneous on / off switching of the heat supplied to the catalytic bed, (2) elimination of hot spots in exothermic reactions, (3) reduced heat transfer limitation, (4) less energy consumption than the conventional heating reactors with heat losses (up to 90% energy efficiency), and (5) direct use of renewable sources such as wind, solar, and hydropower for energy production. Compared with other electrified heating methods, such as Joule heating, which requires the change in the entire reactor design to place the wires for heating, induction heating needs the addition of a coil, such as a copper coil, to be placed outside the reactor to replace the furnace.

[0053] Induction heating directly targets the susceptors, or ferromagnetic material, inside the reactor instead of heating the catalyst bed through conduction and convection from the external heating source so that the desired temperature may be reached within an extremely short time. Thus, this helps to reduce energy consumption because it has the highest power transmission, overcomes the heating inertia, and reduces energy waste.

[0054] Susceptors that may be used in induction heating include a ferromagnetic material. The ferromagnetic material may include metals and / or metal oxides to provide magnetism under a magnetic field in the reactor. Many metals and / or metal oxides have shown magnetism under a magnetic field, but cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), and iron (Fe) have been primarily selected to provide heating through hysteresis loss. When used with a catalysis reaction system, two types of catalysts beds may be used to reach the desired reaction temperature: (1) a physically mixed catalyst bed with a susceptor, or ferromagnetic material, and (2) the direct use of a magnetically active catalyst.

[0055] The present disclosure relates to a system and a method using induction heating in a chemical reactor having a single catalyst bed. In an embodiment, the single catalyst bed includes a catalyst and a ferromagnetic material. In some embodiments, the system may further include an induction heater. In another embodiment, the reactor may further include a ferromagnetic material in the induction heater, which causes heating of the reactor and single catalyst bed. The ferromagnetic material may be cobalt (Co), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), their alloys, their oxides, carbides, steel, stainless steel, or combinations thereof. Thus, in some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material, i.e., susceptor, in the system may act as an active site or a heat source in the induction heater and / or within the single catalyst bed.Docket No. 39425-377

[0056] For example, the system and method of the present disclosure may be used with a reactor for the conversion of ethanol to a C4 product, such as 1,3-butadiene. The system and method may further be used for the conversion of propane to propylene, or for the conversion of ethanol to acetone reactions. In other embodiments, the system of the present disclosure can be applied to any system that could benefit from using a single catalyst bed. For example, such systems may include performing hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, reduction, halogenation, hydrohalogenation, nitration, sulfonation, alky lation, acylation, esterification, polymerization, depolymerization, isomerization, cracking, amination, hydrolysis, condensation, cycloadditions, reforming, or dehydration reactions.

[0057] The system and method as described herein provide temperature control of a single catalyst bed using a more efficient heating source than current fossil fuel heating systems. As described herein, it is believed that induction heating provides better temperature control of the catalyst bed, enabling high selectivity to the products, depending on the reaction, as well as higher yield and operating efficiency than previous heating methods. It is also believed that including the ferromagnetic material in the catalyst composition provides improved performance of the reaction system, selectivity, and stability. It has also been found that the system as described herein improved the performance of propane dehydrogenation reactions, along with selectivity and yield of products.

[0058] In another example, the system and method of the present disclosure may be used with an ethanol-to-acetaldehyde reaction. This reaction results in the formation of hydrogen and acetaldehyde, a crucial intermediate for the production of resins, solvents, and fragrances, as well as other chemicals, such as acetic acid, ethyl acetate, or n-butanol. When traditional heating sources, such as fossil fuels and / or furnaces, are used, uneven temperature distribution within the catalyst bed is expected. The uneven temperature distribution may lead to reduced acetaldehyde selectivity, the formation of undesired side products, and a decrease in the lifetime of the catalyst because of coking and / or metal sintering. However, the inventors believe that using induction heating may overcome these challenges.

[0059] Reference throughout this specification to ’‘one embodiment” or '‘an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. In addition, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or.”Docket No. 39425-377

[0060] As used herein, the singular forms “a,” "‘an,” and "‘the” include plural references unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a sample” includes a single sample as well as more than one sample.

[0061] As used herein, the term “about” or “approximately” in connection with a measured quantity refers to the normal variations in that measured quantity as expected by one of ordinary skill in the art in making the measurement and exercising a level of care commensurate with the objective of measurement and the precision of the measuring equipment. In certain embodiments, the term “about” includes the recited number ±10%, such that “about 10” would include from 9 to 11.

[0062] As used herein, the term “C4 product” refers to a hydrocarbon that includes four carbon atoms in its chemical structure, wherein the chain may be linear or branched as well as saturated or unsaturated. For example, a “C4 product” may refer to, but is not limited to, 1,3-butadiene, butane, isobutane, but-l-ene, but-2-ene, but-l-yne, but-2-yne, isobutylene, 1,2-butadiene, vinylacetylene, diacetylene, or a combination thereof.

[0063] As used herein, “catalyst” and / or “catalyst composition” may be used interchangeably, and refers to a composition including a catalytic component.

[0064] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a system has been developed that includes a reactor including a single catalyst bed and an induction heater. As understood herein, the single catalyst bed may refer to a system having one catalyst bed. Thus, reference to a single catalyst bed and a catalyst bed may be used interchangeably herein to refer to one catalyst bed.

[0065] In some embodiments, the single catalyst bed may include a catalyst. In another embodiment, the single catalyst bed may include a catalyst and a ferromagnetic material. In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may include cobalt (Co), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), carbides, steel, stainless steel, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may include Co alloys, Co oxides, Fe alloys, Fe oxides, Ni alloys, Ni oxides, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may be a nanomaterial, a powder, a pellet, a honeycomb, an isotropic form, or an anisotropic form. In some embodiments, the isotropic form may include beads, and the anisotropic form may include rods.

[0066] In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may be a powder. In some embodiments, the powder may have a particle size of about 1 nm to about 500 pm. In some embodiments, the particle size of the powder may be about 1 nm to about 500 pm, about 5 nm to about 450 pm, about 10 nm to about 400 pm, about 25 nm to about 350 pm, about 50 nm to about 300 pm, about 75 nm to about 250 pm, about 100 nm to about 200 pm, about 150 nm to about 150 pm, about 200 nm to about 100 pm, about 250 nm to about 50 pm, about 300 nm to about 25 pm,Docket No. 39425-377 about 350 nm to about 15 pm, about 400 nm to about 10 jam. about 450 nm to about 5 jam. or about 500 nm to about 1 pm.

[0067] In some embodiments, the catalyst may include a catalytic component and a support. In some embodiments, the catalytic component may include silicon, a metal, a transition metal, a transition metal oxide, an alkali metal, an alkali earth metal, carbon, or a combination thereof.

[0068] In some embodiments, the transition metal may include platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), rhodium (Rh), ruthenium (Ru), iridium (Ir), or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the metal may include silver (Ag), copper (Cu), titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), aluminum (Al), chromium (Cr). cobalt (Co) or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the transitional metal oxide may include an iron oxide (Fe20s), a chromium oxide (CnCh or CrOs), a zinc oxide (ZnO), a copper oxide (CuO, CU2O, or CU2O3), a manganese oxide (MnO, M Ch or MnCh), an aluminum oxide (AI2O3), a zirconium oxide (ZrCh), a tantalum oxide (Ta20s), a magnesium oxide (MgO). or a combination thereof.

[0069] In some embodiments, the support may include an oxide, carbon, an aluminate, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the support may include zirconia, ceria, titania, zinc oxide, iron oxide, silicon, carbon, aluminum oxide, aluminosilicate, borosilicate, magnesium silicate, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the silicon may include fumed SiCh. SiO2 gel, or a combination thereof.

[0070] In some embodiments, the catalyst may further include a catalyst binder. In some embodiments, a catalyst binder may include silica, alumina, silica-alumina, zirconia-alumina, silica-titania, silica-thoria, silica-magnesia, silica-zirconia, silica-beiyllia, ternary compositions of silica with other refractory oxides, and the like. In some embodiments, other matrices may include clays, such as naturally occurring clays illustrated by montmorillonites, kaolines, bentonites, halloysites, dickites, nacrites, and anauxites.

[0071] In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may be impregnated with the catalyst, coprecipitated with the catalyst, embedded in the catalytic component, or mixed in the single catalyst bed.

[0072] In some embodiments, the induction heater may include a metal coil. In some embodiments, the induction heater may include a ferromagnetic material, as described herein. In some embodiments, the induction heater may be configured to heat the single catalyst bed to an average temperature of about 20°C to about 1300°C. In some embodiments, the single catalyst bed may be heated to an average temperature of about 30°C to about 1250°C, about 50 °C to about 1200°C, about 100°C to about 1100°C, about 200°C to about 1000°C, about 300°C to about 900°C, about 400°C to about 800°C, or about 500°C to about 700°C. The temperature of the singleDocket No. 39425-377 catalyst bed depends on the reaction that is being performed in the system. Therefore, the temperature of the system may be adjusted based on the feed to the reactor.

[0073] In some embodiments, the reactor may be configured to be at a pressure of about 0.1 bar to about 300 bar. In some embodiments, the pressure may be about 1 bar to about 275 bar, about 5 bar to about 250 bar, about 10 bar to about 200 bar, about 25 bar to about 175 bar, about 50 bar to about 150 bar, or about 75 bar to about 125 bar.

[0074] In some embodiments, the single catalyst bed may be configured to perform hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, reduction, halogenation, hydrohalogenation, nitration, sulfonation, alkylation, acylation, esterification, polymerization, depolymerization, isomerization, cracking, amination, hydrolysis, condensation, cycloadditions. reforming, or dehydration reactions.

[0075] In some embodiments, the catalyst may be a copper-based catalyst. In some embodiments, the copper-based catalyst may include a supported copper catalyst, copper(II) acetlacetonate, metallic copper, copper supported on silica, copper oxide active species, a copper crystallite, a copper-manganese catalyst, copper nitrate, copper acetate, an oxidized copper cluster, copper-chromium, copper-zinc-aluminum, copper-zinc-chromium, copper chromite, copper oxide, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the copper-based catalyst may include copper in combination with at least one of manganese (Mn). aluminum (Al), zirconium (Zr), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the catalyst may include at least about 5 wt% of copper oxide, based on total weight of the catalyst. In some embodiments, the catalyst may include about 5 wt% to about 25 wt% of copper oxide, based on the total weight of the catalyst.

[0076] In some embodiments, the catalyst may include silicon oxide. In some embodiments, the silicon oxide may be present in an amount of about 5 wt% to about 100 wt%, based on the total weight of the catalyst. In some embodiments, the silicon oxide may be present in an amount of about 5 wt%, about 10 wt%, about 15 wt%, about 20 wt%, about 25 wt%, about 30 wt%, about 35 wt%, about 40 wt%, about 45 wt%, about 50 wt%, about 55 wt%, about 60 wt%, about 65 wt%, about 70 wt%, about 75 wt%, about 80 wt%, about 85 wt%, about 90 wt%, about 95 wt%, or about 100 wt%, based on total weight of the catalyst.

[0077] In some embodiments, the catalyst may be a manganese-based catalyst. In some embodiments, the manganese-based catalyst may include manganese oxide. In some embodiments, the manganese oxide may be present in an amount from above 0 wt% to about 10 wt%, above 0 wt% to about 20 wt%, about 2 wt% to about 18 wt%, about 5 wt % to about 15 wt%, about 2 wt% to about 12 wt%, about 1 wt% to about 9 wt%, about 2 wt% to about 8 wt%, about 3 wt% to about 7 wt%, or about 4 wt% to about 6 wt%, based on total weight of the composition.Docket No. 39425-377

[0078] In some embodiments, the catalyst may be an aluminum-based catalyst. In some embodiments, the aluminum-based catalyst may include aluminum oxide. In some embodiments, the aluminum oxide may be present in an amount of about 5 wt% to about 100 wt%, based on the total weight of the catalyst. In some embodiments, the aluminum oxide may be present in an amount of about 5 wt%. about 10 wt%. about 15 wt%, about 20 wt%, about 25 wt%, about 30 wt%, about 35 wt%, about 40 wt%, about 45 wt%, about 50 wt%, about 55 wt%, about 60 wt%, about 65 wt%, about 70 wt%, about 75 wt%, about 80 wt%, about 85 wt%, about 90 wt%, about 95 wt%, or about 100 wt%, based on total weight of the catalyst.

[0079] In some embodiments, the catalyst may be a zirconium-based catalyst. In some embodiments, the zirconium-based catalyst may include zirconium oxide. In some embodiments, the zirconium oxide may be present in an amount of about 4 wt% to about 50 wt%, based on the total weight of the catalyst. In some embodiments, the zirconium oxide may be present in an amount of about 4 wt%, about 8 wt%, about 10 wt%, about 15 wt%, about 20 wt%, about 25 wt%, about 30 wt%, about 35 wt%, or about 40 wt%, based on total weight of the catalyst.

[0080] In some embodiments, the reactor may be configured to receive a feed of educt, optionally mixed with an inert gas or solvent. In some embodiments, the educt may include ethanol and propane. In some embodiments, the inert gas may include nitrogen, argon, or helium. In some embodiments, the solvent may include steam.

[0081] In some embodiments, the reactor may be configured to receive a feed of ethanol, optionally mixed with an inert gas, as described herein. In some embodiments, the single catalyst bed may be configured to perform an ethanol dehydrogenation reaction. In some embodiments, the ethanol dehydrogenation reaction produces 1,3-butadiene. In some embodiments, the reaction has about 15% to about 100% selectivity to a C4 product. In some embodiments, the reaction may have a selectivity to the C4 product of about 15% to about 100%, about 20% to about 99%, about 25% to about 95%, about 30% to about 90%, about 35% to about 85%, about 40% to about 80%, about 45% to about 75%, or about 50% to about 70%.

[0082] In some embodiments, the feed of ethanol may include a carrier gas.

[0083] In some embodiments, the carrier gas may include hydrogen.

[0084] In some embodiments, the carrier gas may include carbon dioxide.

[0085] In some embodiments, the catalyst may further include the ferromagnetic material in an amount of at least about 0.5 wt%, at least about 1 wt%, at least about 2 wt%. at least about 5 wt%. or at least about 10 wt%, based on the total weight of the catalyst. In some embodiments, the catalyst may further include the ferromagnetic material in an amount of about 0.5 wt% to about 20 wt%, about 1 wt% to about 18 wt%, about 2 wt% to about 15 wt%, about 3 wt% to about 12 wt%, or about 4 wt% to about 10 wt%, based on total weight of the catalyst.Docket No. 39425-377

[0086] In some embodiments, the reactor may be configured to receive a feed of propane optionally mixed with an inert gas. In some embodiments, the single catalyst bed may be configured to perform a propane dehydrogenation reaction. In some embodiments, the propane dehydrogenation reaction produces propylene. In some embodiments, the reaction has about 60% to about 100% selectivity to propylene.

[0087] In some embodiments, the single catalyst bed may be configured to perform an ethanol- to-acetone reaction. In some embodiments, the reactor may be configured to receive a feed of ethanol, water, and optionally mixed with an inert gas. In some embodiments, the reaction produces acetone. In some embodiments, the reaction may have about 5% to about 100% selectivity to acetone.

[0088] In some embodiments, the reactor may include an induction reactor, athermal reactor, a fixed-bed reactor, a semi-batch reactor, a slurry reactor, or a mixed-bed reactor.

[0089] In some embodiments, the induction heater may be supplied with about 145 watts to about 435 watts of power, about 150 watts to about 420 watts, about 155 watts to about 415 watts, about 160 watts to about 410 watts, about 165 watts to about 405 watts, about 170 watts to about 400 watts, about 175 watts to about 395 watts, about 180 watts to about 390 watts, about 185 watts to about 385 watts, about 190 watts to about 380 watts, about 195 watts to about 375 watts, about 200 watts to about 370 watts, about 205 watts to about 365 watts, about 210 watts to about 360 watts, about 215 watts to about 355 watts, about 220 watts to about 350 watts, about 225 watts to about 345 watts, about 230 watts to about 340 watts, about 235 watts to about 335 watts, about 240 watts to about 330 watts, about 245 watts to about 325 watts, about 250 watts to about 320 watts, about 255 watts to about 315 watts, about 260 watts to about 310 watts, about 265 watts to about 305 watts, about 270 watts to about 300 watts, about 275 watts to about 295 watts, or about 280 watts to about 290 watts.

[0090] In an embodiment, a method is provided to convert ethanol into a C4 product. The method includes feeding ethanol to a reactor may include a single catalyst bed as described herein. The method may further include heating the reactor via an induction heater. In some embodiments, the single catalyst bed may include a catalyst including a catalytic component and a support.

[0091] In some embodiments, the catalytic component may include Co, Al, or a metal. In some embodiments, the metal may include Ag, Cu, Ti, Zr, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cr, or a combination.

[0092] In some embodiments, the support may include silicon, carbon, aluminum oxide, aluminosilicate, borosilicate, magnesium silicate, or a combination thereof.

[0093] In some embodiments of the method, the induction heater may include a ferromagnetic material. In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may include Co, Fe, Ni, carbides, steel, stainless steel, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic materialDocket No. 39425-377 may include Co alloys, Co oxides, Fe alloys. Fe oxides, Ni alloys, Ni oxides, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may be a nanomaterial, a powder, a pellet, a honeycomb, an isotropic form, or an anisotropic form. In some embodiments, the isotropic form may include beads, and the anisotropic form may include rods.

[0094] In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may be a powder. In some embodiments, the powder may have a particle size of about 1 nm to about 500 pm. In some embodiments, the particle size of the powder may be about 1 nm to about 500 pm, about 5 nm to about 450 pm, about 10 nm to about 400 pm, about 25 nm to about 350 pm, about 50 nm to about 300 pm, about 75 nm to about 250 pm. about 100 nm to about 200 pm, about 150 nmto about 150 pm, about 200 nm to about 100 pm, about 250 nm to about 50 pm, about 300 nm to about 25 pm, about 350 nm to about 15 pm, about 400 nm to about 10 pm, about 450 nm to about 5 pm, or about 500 nm to about 1 pm.

[0095] In some embodiments of the method to perform the ethanol dehydrogenation reaction, the induction heater heats the single catalyst bed to an average temperature of about 150°C to about 1000°C. In some embodiments, the average temperature may be about 150°C, about 250°C, about 300°C, about 400°C, about 500°C, about 600°C, about 700°C, about 800°C, about 900°C, or about 1000°C. In some embodiments, the method to perform the ethanol dehydrogenation reaction may be performed at a pressure of about 0. 1 bar to about 100 bar. In some embodiments, the pressure may be about 0.1 bar to about 100 bar, about 1 bar to about 95 bar, about 5 bar to about 90 bar, about 10 bar to about 85 bar, about 15 bar to about 80 bar, bout 20 bar to about 75 bar, about 25 to about 70 bar, about 30 bar to about 65 bar, about 35 bar to about 60 bar, or about 40 bar to about 55 bar.

[0096] In an embodiment, a method is provided to convert propanol into a C3 product. The method includes feeding propanol to a reactor may include a single catalyst bed as described herein. The method may further include heating the reactor via an induction heater. In some embodiments, the single catalyst bed may include a catalyst including a catalytic component and a support.

[0097] In some embodiments, the catalytic component may include Co, Al, a metal, or a transition metal. In some embodiments, the metal may include Ag, Cu, Ti, Zr, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cr, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the transition metal may include Pt, Pd, Rh, Ru, or Ir.

[0098] In some embodiments, the support may include silicon, carbon, aluminum oxide, aluminosilicate, borosilicate, magnesium silicate, or a combination thereof.

[0099] In some embodiments of the method, the induction heater may include a ferromagnetic material. In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may include Co, Fe, Ni, carbides,Docket No. 39425-377 steel, stainless steel, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may include Co alloys, Co oxides, Fe alloys, Fe oxides, Ni alloys, Ni oxides, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may be a nanomaterial, a powder, a pellet, a honey comb, an isotropic form, or an anisotropic form. In some embodiments, the isotropic form may include beads, and the anisotropic form may include rods.[000100] In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may be a powder. In some embodiments, the powder may have a particle size of about 1 nm to about 500 pm. In some embodiments, the particle size of the powder may be about 1 nm to about 500 pm, about 5 nm to about 450 pm, about 10 nm to about 400 pm, about 25 nm to about 350 pm, about 50 nm to about 300 pm, about 75 nm to about 250 pm. about 100 nm to about 200 pm, about 150 nm to about 150 pm, about 200 nm to about 100 pm, about 250 nm to about 50 pm, about 300 nm to about 25 pm, about 350 nm to about 15 pm, about 400 nm to about 10 pm, about 450 nm to about 5 pm, or about 500 nm to about 1 pm.[000101] In some embodiments of the method to perform the propanol reaction, the induction heater heats the single catalyst bed to an average temperature of about 150°C to about 800°C. In some embodiments, the average temperature may be about 150°C, about 250°C, about 300°C, about 400°C, about 500°C, about 600°C, about 700°C, or about 800°C. In some embodiments, the method to perform the propanol reaction may be performed at a pressure of about 0. 1 bar to about 100 bar. In some embodiments, the pressure may be about 0.1 bar to about 100 bar, about 1 bar to about 95 bar, about 5 bar to about 90 bar, about 10 bar to about 85 bar, about 15 bar to about 80 bar, bout 20 bar to about 75 bar, about 25 to about 70 bar, about 30 bar to about 65 bar, about 35 bar to about 60 bar, or about 40 bar to about 55 bar.[000102] In an embodiment, a method is provided to convert ethanol into acetone. The method includes feeding an ethanol-water mixture to a reactor including a single catalyst bed as described herein. The method may further include heating the reactor via an induction heater. In some embodiments, the single catalyst bed may include a catalyst including a metal oxide and a ferromagnetic material.[000103] In some embodiments, the metal oxide may include an iron oxide (Fe20s), a chromium oxide (CnCh or CrCh), a zinc oxide (ZnO), a copper oxide (CuO, CwO, or CU2O3), a manganese oxide (MnO, M1T2O3 or MnCh), an aluminum oxide (AI2O3), a zirconium oxide (ZrCh), a tantalum oxide (Ta2Os), a magnesium oxide (MgO), or a combination thereof.[000104] In some embodiments of the method, the induction heater may include a ferromagnetic material. In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may include Co, Fe, Ni, carbides, steel, stainless steel, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may include Co alloys, Co oxides, Fe alloys, Fe oxides, Ni alloys, Ni oxides, or a combinationDocket No. 39425-377 thereof. In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may be a nanomaterial, a powder, a pellet, a honeycomb, an isotropic form, or an anisotropic form. In some embodiments, the isotropic form may include beads, and the anisotropic form may include rods.[000105] In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic material may be a powder. In some embodiments, the powder may have a particle size of about 1 nm to about 500 pm. In some embodiments, the particle size of the powder may be about 1 nm to about 500 pm, about 5 nm to about 450 pm, about 10 nm to about 400 pm, about 25 nm to about 350 pm, about 50 nm to about 300 pm, about 75 nm to about 250 pm, about 100 nm to about 200 pm, about 150 nm to about 150 pm, about 200 nm to about 100 pm, about 250 nm to about 50 pm, about 300 nm to about 25 pm, about 350 nm to about 15 pm, about 400 nm to about 10 pm. about 450 nm to about 5 pm. or about 500 nm to about 1 pm.[000106] In some embodiments of the method to perform the ethanol dehydrogenation reaction, the induction heater heats the single catalyst bed to an average temperature of about 150°C to about 1000°C. In some embodiments, the average temperature may be about 150°C, about 250°C, about 300°C, about 400°C, about 500°C, about 600°C, about 700°C, about 800°C, about 900°C, or about 1000°C. In some embodiments, the method to perform the ethanol dehydrogenation reaction may be performed at a pressure of about 0. 1 bar to about 100 bar. In some embodiments, the pressure may be about 0.1 bar to about 100 bar, about 1 bar to about 95 bar, about 5 bar to about 90 bar, about 10 bar to about 85 bar, about 15 bar to about 80 bar, bout 20 bar to about 75 bar, about 25 to about 70 bar, about 30 bar to about 65 bar, about 35 bar to about 60 bar, or about 40 bar to about 55 bar.[000107] In some embodiments, the reactor of any of the methods described herein may include an induction reactor, a thermal reactor, a fixed bed reactor, a semi-batch reactor, a slurry reactor, or a mixed-bed reactor.[000108] In some embodiments, the induction heater of the methods described above may be supplied with about 145 watts to about 10,000 watts of power, about 200 watts to about 9,500 watts, about 250 watts to about 9,000 watts, about 300 watts to about 8,500 watts, about 350 watts to about 8,000 watts, about 400 watts to about 7,500 watts, about 450 watts to about 7,000 watts, about 500 watts to about 6,500 watts, about 550 watts to about 6,000 watts, about 600 watts to about 5,500 watts, about 650 watts to about 5,500 watts, about 700 watts to about 5,000 watts, about 750 watts to about 4,500 watts, about 800 watts to about 4,000 watts, about 850 watts to about 3,500 watts, about 900 watts to about 3.000 watts, about 950 watts to about 2.500 watts, or about 1,000 watts to about 2,000 watts.ExamplesDocket No. 39425-377[000109] The following examples are set forth to assist in understanding the invention and should not, of course, be construed as specifically limiting the invention described and claimed herein. Such variations of the invention, including the substitution of all equivalents now known or later developed, which would be within the purview of those skilled in the art, and changes in formulation or minor changes in experimental design, are to be considered to fall within the scope of the invention incorporated herein.Ethanol-to-Acetaldehyde Study[000110] A study was conducted to apply induction heating to an ethanol-to-acetaldehyde (ETAA) reaction. In the study, cobalt (Co) powder as a susceptor, i.e., ferromagnetic material, was physically mixed in the catalyst bed to provide heating directly to the catalyst.MethodologyMaterials[000111] BASF Cu 0582E was provided by BASF Corporation and contains 52% CuO on AI2O3. Details about the catalyst can be found in US Publication No. 2022 / 0152596. The susceptor cobalt powder (2 pm particle size, 99.8% trace metals basis) was purchased from Sigma- Aldrich.Characterization[000112] Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was conducted with Netzsch TG 209 Fl Libra with a heating rate of 20 °C / min up to 1100 °C under 30% O2 in N2. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) measurements were performed on Rigaku Ultima III equipped with a Cu Kot X-ray generator working at 30 kV and 40 mA. The samples were measured from 20° to 90° with the step size of 2 / min at X = 1 .5405 A.Catalyst Activity Testing[000113] The induction heater heating system (Ambrell EASYHEAT 0224) was equipped with a water-to-air heat exchanger (FLOWMAX- 115) to cool down the copper coil during the heating. The coil was customized to ensure the desired frequency and power supply to heat nanomaterials. The 16-tum spiral coil is 6"’ long with an I.D. of 5 / 8”. The frequency stays around 226 kHz during the heating process. A laser pyrometer (Micro-Epsilon, focus: 0.5 mm @ 150 mm) and a PID controller (Omega) were connected to the induction heater heating system to monitor the reaction temperature. Before the reaction, the pyrometer must be calibrated with a thermocouple to ensure the accuracy of the temperature measurement (Section SI). Co heating layers and the packed catalyst bed containing physically mixed Co powder and C11 / AI2O3 catalyst were placed in a fusedDocket No. 39425-377 quartz reactor of 7 mm I.D. x 9.5 mm O.D. with ceramic fiber insulation. The insulated quartz tube was housed inside the induction coil, and the susceptor Co was heated inductively in the applied alternating magnetic field.[000114] Cu / AhCh catalyst was reduced in three stages. The catalyst was first reduced at 155 °C for 140 min under 5% H2 in N2 with a total flow rate of 25 ccm. Then the temperature was ramped to 180 °C in 4 min and kept for 4 h. Last, H2 concentration was increased to 20% in N2 with a total flow rate of 25 ccm and kept for 3h at 180 °C. After reduction, the temperature was subsequently increased to the reaction temperature for the activity' tests. Pure ethanol was fed through a liquid pump (New Era NE-4000) and vaporized in an evaporator at 180 °C. N2 was used as the carrier gas to provide 5% ethanol at different weight hourly space velocities (WHSV).[000115] The catalyst activity was also tested with furnace heating to compare with induction heating. The reaction conditions were the same as those with induction heating, except no Co heating layers were needed with furnace heating. A K-type thermocouple was inserted inside the reactor to monitor the catalyst bed temperature, while another K-type thermocouple was placed in the furnace to control the reaction temperature through the connection with a Proportional - Integral - Derivative (PID) controller.[000116] The effluent gas from the reactor was analyzed by an SRI gas chromatography (GC) equipped with a flame ionization detector (FID), a methanizer. and a thermal conductivity detector (TCD). The columns used were Hayesep D columns and a Moleseive 5A column. The ethanol conversion (XEIOH), product selectivity (Si, i = acetaldehyde, methanol, acetic acid, ethyl acetate, acetone), and product yield (Yi) were calculated as follows: 100 (1) (2)Yi (%) = XEt0Hx St(3) where Cm and Cout denote the concentration of the component from the inlet and the outlet, respectively, n is the number of products.Results and DiscussionCatalyst activity enhancement with induction heating[000117] Before studying the ethanol dehydrogenation with induction heating, the Co activity7was investigated by conducting the reaction under the reaction condition with the conventionalDocket No. 39425-377 furnace heater, and its effect was confirmed to be minimal, resulting in a 3% conversion of ethanol (Fig. 1). The catalyst activity of Cu / Ahth for ethanol dehydrogenation was then evaluated with induction heating at different temperatures, using a WHSV of 1.2 h'1. The reaction was also performed with the conventional furnace heater to establish a baseline. As depicted from the time- on-stream (TOS) results in Fig. 2, the ethanol conversion (Fig. 2a). acetaldehyde selectivity (Fig. 2b), and acetaldehyde yield (Fig. 2c) were compared at temperatures of 215 °C, 225 °C, 235 °C, and 245 °C with both IH and CFH. The ethanol conversion with the conventional furnace heating was 54.1% and 57.9% at 215 °C and 225 °C, respectively. However, this can be significantly improved with induction heating. At 215 °C and 225 °C, the ethanol conversion increased to 82.5% and 80.8% with induction heating, respectively, reaching the equilibrium conversion of the ethanol dehydrogenation reaction. The selectivity to acetaldehyde was not affected by the different heating methods, indicating the increase in conversion w as most likely due to the enhanced heat transfer through the close contact between Co and C11 / AI2O3 catalyst and improved local temperature distribution rather than changes in the reaction mechanisms.[000118] In order to assess the impact of induction heating on the enhancement of catalytic activity, the reaction temperature w as increased to 245 °C and above with the conventional furnace heater (Fig. 2). It was observed that ethanol conversion and acetaldehyde selectivity under conventional furnace heater matched those achieved with the induction heater when the temperature was increased by 30 °C within the first 15 h at 245 °C and 255 °C. This notable improvement in ethanol conversion at lower temperatures has also been reported in other reactions, such as the hydrogenation of fatty' acids, steam reforming of methane, and Fisher-Tropsch synthesis. The convergence of ethanol conversion and product selectivities between induction heating and conventional furnace heating at elevated reaction temperatures indicates that induction heating has the potential to enhance energy efficiency and production efficiency by reducing the reaction temperature by 30 °C. As the susceptor (Co powder) is thoroughly mixed with Cu / AhCh in the catalyst bed, rapid heat compensation can be provided directly and immediately to the catalyst through close contact during the endothermic reaction. For conventional furnace heating, the heat supply depends on heat transfer through the gas phase and reactor wall, which can result in temperature fluctuations and gradients. This slow- response to local heat loss caused by the reaction can consequently limit the catalyst activity7.[000119] The catalyst activity was investigated at different WHSVs using both induction heating and conventional furnace heating. The ethanol conversion, and acetaldehyde selectivity and yield were tested for 15 h at WHSVs of 0.6 h'1and 1.2 h'1. As showTi in Fig. 3 (a-c), the WHSV significantly impacted the conversion, selectivity, and yield. Such differences may be attributed to the changes in the contact time between ethanol vapor and the catalyst surface. A lower WHSV ofDocket No. 39425-3770.6 h'1increased the contact time, leading to a secondary reaction where more ethyl acetate was formed through the acetaldehyde coupling with ethanol and followed by further dehydrogenation (Fig. 4 (a)). Consequently, a higher ethanol conversion of over 80% was achieved within the first 5 h. and a lower acetaldehyde selectivity of 30% to 68% was observed through the 15 h reaction time. The longer contact time also contributed to the acetone formation due to the significant amount of adsorbed acetaldehyde undergoing a condensation reaction (Fig. 4 (b)). The catalyst activity at WHSV of 0.6 h'1and 1.2’1was studied with conventional furnace heating, as shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. The average ethanol conversion was 47% and 58% at 1.2 h'1and 0.6 h’1, respectively. The selectivity of acetaldehyde decreased to 48% - 69% over the reaction time at the WHSV of 0.6 h’1, lower than 64% - 81% obtained at 1.2 h’1. The catalyst activity consistently improved with induction heating, regardless of the space velocity value. The oscillations in the ethanol conversion are more evident with conventional furnace heating than with induction heating, shown in Fig. 5(a) and Fig. 3(a), respectively. These oscillations were independent of reaction temperature but might be related to the low flow rates used in the liquid pump, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8.[000120] The rate-determining step (RDS) for non-oxidative ethanol dehydrogenation to acetaldehyde over supported Cu catalysts is the cleavage of the Ca-H bond of the surface ethoxide, which is formed by the ethanol adsorption followed by the O-H bond cleavage, as shown in Fig. 9. Alternatively, the RDS of C2-C4 alcohol dehydrogenation can be the O-H bond cleavage when the surface coverage of ethanol is low and shift back to the Ca-H bond cleavage when ethanol partial pressure is high. Since the ethanol flow rate was 5 pL / min, such a low flow rate could take longer to reach the steady state and lead to the initial ethanol concentration below 5% in N2. Therefore, the conversion of ethanol with induction heating might be facilitated through the facile O-H and Ca-H bond cleavage in the magnetic field. As shown in Fig. 4 (a) and Fig. 6 (a), the selectivity of ethyl acetate was higher at the beginning and gradually reached a steady state with both heating methods due to the low WHSV of ethanol before reaching the steady state. The initial longer contact time between the ethanol feed and the catalyst active sites leads to more surface ethoxy groups and acetaldehyde formations. Surface acetaldehyde can undergo a successive dehydrogenation step to form surface acetyl, which reacts with the surface ethoxy species to form ethyl acetate. As a result, when the ethanol inlet concentration approached a steady state, the conversion of ethanol and the selectivity to ethyl acetate gradually decreased in the reaction with both heating methods. As shown in Fig. 4 (b) and Fig. 6 (b). the acetone selectivity with induction heating was high initially and gradually decreased with time while remaining higher than that with conventional furnace heating. This could be related to the higher ethanol conversion with induction heating, which resulted in a large amount of surface acetaldehyde species from dissociative ethanolDocket No. 39425-377 adsorption, providing strongly adsorbed acetaldehyde on the adjacent catalyst active sites that formed adsorbed acetaldol through condensation, leading to acetone formation. In addition, the decrease in acetone production was due to less surface acetaldehyde formation from the decreasing ethanol conversion with induction heating.[000121] The Arrhenius plots of acetaldehyde formation are shown in Figs. lOa-b. The apparent activation energies of ethanol dehydrogenation reaction with conventional furnace heating and induction heating are comparable, measuring 19.77 kJ / mol and 24.1 kJ / mol, respectively, consistent with the reported value for high Cu loading catalysts. Despite the difference in activation energy, the ethanol conversion with induction heating was significantly higher than conventional furnace heating, while the selectivity to acetaldehyde was similar. This suggested that the active sites involved in the reaction are identical with both heating methods. Therefore, the improvement in ethanol conversion with induction heating may be attributed to two factors: (1) the improved local heat transfer inside the catalyst bed and (2) the rapid compensation for heat loss from the endothermic reaction.Catalyst bed design[000122] To investigate the heat distribution within the catalyst bed using induction heating and further improve the catalyst performance, the temperature profile inside the Co heating layers and the catalyst bed in the reactor was studied with COMSOL Multiphysics. As shown in Fig. 11(a), the model simulated the experimental reactor packing with the first configuration, which consisted of four 50 mg Co heating layers separated by quartz wool to heat the incoming ethanol vapor. The catalyst bed has 200 mg C11 / AI2O3 catalyst and 100 mg Co powder. However, the temperature in the Co heating layers in sections A - D is around 447 - 517 °C, which leads to temperature fluctuations along the reactor length in the z-axis. The increased heat dissipation observed in the Co heating layers suggests an excess supply of energy', resulting in energy wastage. The temperature gradient of 12.5 °C across the length of the reactor within the catalyst bed can contribute to suboptimal catalytic performance, including accelerated deactivation and low conversion rates. To eliminate the reaction heat effect on the temperature distribution in the catalyst bed, we investigated two extreme cases with the reaction: no acetaldehyde production (selectivity = 0%) and maximum acetaldehyde production (selectivity7= 80%). As shown in Fig. 12, the highest increase of 5 °C in the catalyst bed temperature was observed when there was no endothermic reaction, suggesting the temperature gradient inside the catalyst bed was mainly caused by the suboptimal bed configuration. Consequently, a new bed design was modeled to lower the temperature of the heating layers and ensure a more uniform temperature distribution within the catalyst bed. As shown in Fig. 11(b), the temperature of the Co heating layers wasDocket No. 39425-377 decreased by 53% when the amount was reduced to 20 mg in each layer. 20 mg and 100 mg Co layers were added above and below the catalyst bed, respectively, to eliminate the temperature gradient. With the new configuration, the temperature gradient was reduced to 1.5 °C, the power consumption was significantly lowered by 67%, and the amount of Co in the reactor remained the same as in the first configuration.[000123] The effectiveness of the new simulated configuration was subsequently validated through experimentation. Fig. 13a-c illustrates a notable improvement in ethanol conversion and a slower deactivation rate with the new design. Specifically, the ethanol conversion rate with the new design surpasses 1.2 times while maintaining comparable selectivities for acetaldehyde, acetone, and ethyl acetate. As shown in Fig. 14, although the first induction heating design can reduce the reaction temperature by 30 °C compared to conventional furnace heating at the beginning of the reaction, the deactivation led to a decreased ethanol conversion with time. However, the catalyst activity with the new induction heating configuration at 215 °C was significantly improved and stabilized at the same level as the experiment conducted with conventional furnace heating at 245 °C. By the 23-hour mark (t = 23 h), the ethanol conversion rate reached 69.8% with the new design, compared to 54.4% with the first configuration. Therefore, the model can be utilized to optimize the temperature distribution within the reactor, thereby enhancing production and energy efficiency.[000124] With the implementation of the new configuration, the catalyst deactivation during the reaction was mitigated by 38%. For Cu / AhCh catalysts, coking and sintering are reported to be the primary causes of the deactivation in alcohol dehydrogenation reactions. However, from our TGA results (Fig. 15), there was no significant evidence of coke formation on the spent catalysts with both conventional furnace heating and induction heating, suggesting coking is not the reason for the deactivation under the reaction conditions reported in this work. Fig. 16 displays the XRD patterns of the spent, reduced, and fresh catalysts within the 20 range of 20° - 90°. The

[0111] Cu reflex at 20 = 43.3° was used to estimate the Cu crystallite sizes by the Debye-Scherrer equation. As shown in Fig. 16, the Cu crystallite sizes of the freshly reduced samples with induction heating and conventional furnace heating are 20.5 nm and 20.6 nm, respectively, suggesting the initial crystallite size of the reduced Cu / AhCh catalyst was not affected by the different heating methods. The crystallite sizes corresponding to the spent catalysts after the reaction at 215 °C with the old configuration with induction heating, 215 °C with the new design with induction heating, 215 °C with conventional furnace heating, and 245 C with conventional furnace heating are 25 nm, 20.8 nm, 21.8 nm, and 23.8 nm, respectively. Previous studies have shown that the average crystallite size grow th exceeding 2 nm can lead to the sintering of the supported Cu catalysts. In contrast, both spent catalysts of the present study after reaction at 215 °C and 245 °C with conventionalDocket No. 39425-377 furnace heating for 15 h did not show apparent deactivation, even with a 3.2 nm increase in the Cu crystallite size. The largest crystallite size was observed on the sample with induction heating prior to modifying the catalyst bed configuration, showing that sintering might lead to accelerated deactivation under this reaction condition. The spent sample with induction heating with the new bed configuration, however, showed a significantly reduced crystallite size compared with the old configuration, suggesting the sintering was alleviated after the bed optimization with modeling. As a result, the catalyst activity from the new design can presumably be further improved with the modeling. Cu1+and Cu2+peaks from the spent induction heating samples, as well as Cu (220) and Co FCC peaks at 20 = 73.4° and 76° from the spent induction heating sample with the new configuration, were not observed in the stacked XRD patterns in Fig. 16 but were shown in the raw data (Fig. 17a-b). This is attributed to the B-spline smoothing applied to the raw data (Fig. 17a-b) with a high noise-to-intensity ratio due to the complex mixture of the quartz w ool and a large amount of Co powder. Fig. 17a shows the raw data induction heating new 215, while Fig. 17b shows the raw data induction heating old 215 from Fig. 16. Additional susceptor Co hep and fee peaks were shown at 20 = 41.6°, 44.3° in the samples with induction heating.Conclusion of ETAA Study[000125] The study demonstrated that induction heating can improve production efficiency by lowering the reaction temperature by 30 °C in the ethanol dehydrogenation to acetaldehyde reaction thanks to the minimal temperature gradient within the catalyst bed, enhanced local heat transfer, and the rapid compensation for temperature changes facilitated by the close contact between the susceptor materials and the catalyst. Induction heating achieved lower energy’ consumption due to its instantaneous and targeted heating, which overcomes heat transfer limitations compared to conventional furnace heating.[000126] A transport model was developed to investigate the temperature profile within the catalyst bed, which is a critical factor affecting the catalyst activity' with induction heating. Furthermore, a new catalyst bed configuration was designed and confirmed through experimentation, demonstrating that catalyst performance can be further improved by minimizing the temperature gradient. Due to the intrinsic limitation of a laser pyrometer that only the surface temperature of the catalyst bed can be measured, the temperature distribution inside the catalyst bed is unknown without the modeling. Although one can measure similar reaction temperatures through the quartz reactor wall, the heat distribution inside the catalyst bed can be largely affected by the packing without a proper bed configuration design, leading to a decreased catalyst performance. As a result, a heat transfer model was necessary’ to help design the bed configuration, decrease the temperature gradient in the catalyst bed, and improve the catalyst stability'. The powerDocket No. 39425-377 consumption of the reactor was reduced by 67% with the new design, and the catalyst deactivation was slowed down with the new configuration, such that both high production and energy efficiency can be achieved by applying induction heating. These results serve as proof of concept, demonstrating the feasibility of using induction heating in catalyst beds for the dehydrogenation of ETAA.[000127] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.[000128] As used herein, the term “of’ may mean “comprising.” For example, “a liquid dispersion of’ may be interpreted as “a liquid dispersion comprising.”[000129] As used herein, “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity, e.g., “a compound” refers to one or more compounds or at least one compound unless stated otherwise. As such, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more”, and “at least one” are used interchangeably herein. [000130] As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Additionally, as used herein, “or” means “and / or.”[000131] Claims or descriptions that include “or” or “and / or” between at least one members of a group are considered satisfied if one, more than one, or all of the group members are present in, employed in, or otherwise relevant to a given product or process unless indicated to the contrary' or otherwise evident from the context. The disclosure includes embodiments in which exactly one member of the group is present in, employed in, or otherwise relevant to a given product or process. The disclosure includes embodiments in which more than one, or all the group members are present in, employed in, or otherwise relevant to a given product or process.[000132] Furthermore, the disclosure encompasses all variations, combinations, and permutations in which at least one limitation, element, clause, and descriptive term from at least one of the listed claims is introduced into another claim. For example, any claim that is dependent on another claim can be modified to include at least one limitation found in any other claim that is dependent on the same base claim. Where elements are presented as lists, such as, e.g., in Markush group format, each subgroup of the elements is also disclosed, and any element(s) can be removed from the group. It should be understood that, in general, where the disclosure, or aspects of the disclosure, is / are referred to as comprising particular elements and / or features, embodiments of the disclosure or aspects of the disclosure consist, or consist essentially of, such elements and / or features. For purposes of simplicity, those embodiments have not been specifically set forth inDocket No. 39425-377 haec verba herein. Where ranges are given (such as, e.g.. from [X] to [Y]). endpoints (such as. e.g., [X] and [Y] in the phrase “from [X] to [Y]”) are included unless otherwise indicated. Furthermore, unless otherwise indicated or otherwise evident from the context and understanding of one of ordinary' skill in the art, values that are expressed as ranges can assume any specific value or sub-range within the stated ranges in different embodiments of the disclosure, to the tenth of the unit of the lower limit of the range, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Claims

Docket No. 39425-377What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising: a reactor comprising a single catalyst bed; and an induction heater. wherein the single catalyst bed comprises a catalyst and a ferromagnetic material.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the ferromagnetic material comprises cobalt, iron, nickel, carbides, steel, stainless steel, or a combination thereof.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the ferromagnetic material is a nanomaterial, powder, pellet, honeycomb, isotropic form, anisotropic form, or a combination thereof.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the ferromagnetic material is a powder.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the powder has a particle size of about 1 nm to about 500 pm.

6. The system of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the catalyst comprises a catalytic component and a support, wherein the catalytic component comprises silicon, a metal, a transition metal, a transition metal oxide, an alkali metal, an alkali earth metal, carbon, or a combination thereof.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the transition metal comprises platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), rhodium (Rh)l ruthenium (Ru), iridium (Ir), or a combination thereof.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the metal comprises silver (Ag), copper (Cu). titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), or a combination thereof.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the transition metal oxide comprises an iron oxide (Fe20s), chromium oxide (CnCh or CrOs). zinc oxide (ZnO), or a combination thereof.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the support comprises an oxide, carbon, an aluminate, or a combination thereof.Docket No. 39425-37711. The system of claim 6. wherein the support comprises zirconia, ceria, titania, zinc oxide, iron oxide, silicon, carbon, aluminum oxide, aluminosilicate, borosilicate, magnesium silicate, or a combination thereof.

12. The system of any one of claims 1-11, wherein the ferromagnetic material is impregnated with the catalyst, coprecipitated with the catalyst, embedded in a catalytic component, or mixed in the single catalyst bed, or a combination thereof.

13. The system of any one of claims 1-12, wherein the induction heater is configured to heat the single catalyst bed to an average temperature of about 20°C to about 1300°C.

14. The system of any one of claims 1-13, wherein the reactor is configured to be at a pressure of about 0.1 bar to about 300 bar.

15. The system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the single catalyst bed is configured to perform hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, reduction, halogenation, hydrohalogenation, nitration, sulfonation, alkylation, acylation, esterification, polymerization, depolymerization, isomerization, cracking, amination, hydrolysis, condensation, cycloadditions, reforming, or dehydration reactions.

16. The system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the catalyst comprises at least about 5 wt% of copper oxide.

17. The system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the catalyst comprises silicon oxide and is present in an amount from about 5 wt% to about 100 wt%, based on total weight of the catalyst.

18. The system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the catalyst comprises manganese oxide and is present in an amount from above 0 wt% to about 20 wt%, based on total weight of the catalyst.

19. The system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the catalyst comprises aluminum oxide and is present in an amount from about 5 wt% to about 100 wt%, based on total weight of the catalyst.Docket No. 39425-37720. The system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the catalyst comprises a zirconium component.

21. The system of claim 23, wherein the zirconium component comprises zirconium oxide.

22. The system of claim 23, wherein the zirconium component is present in an amount from about 4 wt% to about 50 wt%, based on total weight of the catalyst.

23. The system of any of the preceding claims, wherein the reactor is configured to receive a feed of educt, optionally mixed with an inert gas or solvent.

24. The system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the reactor is configured to receive a feed of ethanol optionally mixed with an inert gas.

25. The system of claim 17, wherein the single catalyst bed is configured to perform an ethanol dehydrogenation reaction.

26. The system of claim 19, wherein the ethanol dehydrogenation reaction produces 1,3- butadiene.

27. The system of claim 17, wherein the reaction has about 15% to about 100% selectivity to a C4 product.

28. The system of claim 6, wherein the catalyst further comprises at least about 0.5 wt% of the ferromagnetic material.

29. The system of claim 1, wherein the single catalyst bed is configured to perform a propane dehydrogenation reaction.

30. The system of claim 1, wherein the reactor is configured to receive a feed of propane optionally mixed with an inert gas.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the propane dehydrogenation reaction produces propylene.Docket No. 39425-37732. The system of claim 30, wherein the reaction has about 60% to about 100% selectivity to propylene.

33. The system of claim 1, wherein the single catalyst bed is configured to perform an ethanol-to-acetone reaction.

34. The system of claim 1, wherein the reactor is configured to receive a feed of ethanol, water, and optionally mixed with an inert gas.

35. The system of claim 33, wherein the reaction produces acetone.

36. The system of claim 33, wherein the reaction has about 5 to about 100% selectivity' to acetone.

37. The system of claims 23, 24, 30, or 34, wherein the inert gas comprises nitrogen, argon, or helium.

38. A method for converting ethanol into a C4 product comprising: feeding ethanol to a reactor comprising a single catalyst bed, and heating the reactor via an induction heater, wherein the single catalyst bed comprises a catalyst comprising a catalytic component and a support, wherein the catalytic component comprises cobalt (Co), aluminum (Al), or a metal.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the metal comprises silver (Ag), copper (Cu), titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), or a combination thereof.

40. The method of claim 38 or 39, wherein the support comprises silicon, carbon, aluminum oxide, aluminosilicate, borosilicate, magnesium silicate, or a combination thereof41. The method of claim 38, wherein the induction heater comprises a ferromagnetic material.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the ferromagnetic material comprises cobalt, iron, nickel, steel, stainless steel, or a combination thereof.Docket No. 39425-37743. The method any one of claims 38-42, wherein the induction heater heats the single catalyst bed to an average temperature of about 150°C to about 1000°C.

44. The method of any one of claims 38-43, wherein the method is performed at a pressure of about 0.1 bar to about 100 bar.

45. A method for converting propanol into a C3 product comprising: feeding propanol to a reactor comprising a single catalyst bed; and heating the reactor via an induction heater. wherein the single catalyst bed comprises a catalyst comprising a catalytic component and a support, wherein the catalytic component comprises cobalt (Co), aluminum, a metal, or a transition metal.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the transition metal comprises Pt, Pd, Rh, Ru, or Ir.

47. The method of claim 45, wherein the metal comprises Ag, Cu, Ti, Zr, Zn, Fe, or a combination thereof.

48. The method of any one of claims 45-47, wherein the support comprises silicon, carbon, aluminum oxide, aluminosilicate, borosilicate, magnesium silicate, or a combination thereof.

49. The method of any one of claims 45-48, wherein the induction heater comprises a ferromagnetic material.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the ferromagnetic material comprises Co. Fe, Ni, steel, and stainless steel.

51. The method of any one of claims 45-50, wherein the induction heater heats the single catalyst bed to an average temperature of about 150°C to about 800°C.

52. The method of any one of claims 45-51, wherein the method is performed at a pressure of about 0.1 bar to about 100 bar.Docket No. 39425-37753. A method for converting ethanol into acetone comprising: feeding an ethanol-water mixture to a reactor comprising a single catalyst bed; and heating the reactor via an induction heater, wherein the single catalyst bed comprising a catalyst comprising a metal oxide, and a ferromagnetic material.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein the metal oxide comprises iron oxide, zinc oxide, or a combination thereof.

55. The method of claim 53 or 54, wherein the induction heater comprises a ferromagnetic material.

56. The method of claim 55, wherein the ferromagnetic material comprises Co, Fe, Ni, steel, stainless steel, or a combination thereof.

57. The method of any one of claims 53-56, wherein the induction heater heats the single catalyst bed to an average temperature of about 150°C to about 800°C.

58. The method of any one of claims 53-57, wherein the method is performed at a pressure of about 0. 1 bar to about 100 bar.

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