Catalyst regeneration via reduction with hydrogen

Abstract

Methods of regenerating a coked catalyst by treatment with a hydrogen-containing gas, where the coke is not removed from the catalyst via combustion with an oxygen-containing gas, are disclosed. The hydrogen-containing gas can be hydrogen itself, syngas (a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide), or, if the catalyst is a dehydrogenation catalyst or if a dehydrogenation catalyst is in-line with the coked catalyst, the reaction product of the catalytic dehydrogenation of a C2-5 alkane, preferably ethane. The method is an improvement over conventional catalyst regeneration methods which first oxidize the coke to form carbon monoxide and an oxidized form of the catalyst, and then reduce the oxidized form of the catalyst so it can be re-used. The present method removes the coke without requiring an oxidation step.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.