Oxidative dehydrogenation and cracking of paraffins with a promoted cobalt catalyst

Abstract

A paraffin or mixture of paraffins having from 2 to 5 carbon atoms is oxidatively dehydrogenated in the presence of a cobalt based catalyst composition which has been calcined in the absence of oxygen. The catalyst composition comprises cobalt; phosphorus; at least one promoter selected from the group consisting of zinc, titanium, zirconium, niobium, indium, lead and bismuth; at least one alkali metal and oxygen. The catalyst composition may also contain sulfur and/or a halogen. If the feed to the oxidative dehydrogenation process contains paraffins having more than two carbon atoms, some cracking of such paraffins will also occur at the conditions at which the oxidative dehydrogenation process is carried out.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.