Europium Oxybromide Catalysts for Efficient Bromine Looping in Natural Gas Valorization

The industrialization of bromine‐mediated natural gas upgrading is contingent on the ability to fully recycle hydrogen bromide (HBr), which is the end form of the halogen after the activation and coupling of the alkanes. Europium oxybromide (EuOBr) is introduced as a unique catalytic material to clo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2017-08, Vol.56 (33), p.9791-9795
Main Authors: Paunović, Vladimir, Lin, Ronghe, Scharfe, Matthias, Amrute, Amol P., Mitchell, Sharon, Hauert, Roland, Pérez‐Ramírez, Javier
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alkanes
Bromination
Bromine
bromine looping
C1 chemistry
Catalysts
Chemical industry
Deactivation
Europium
europium oxybromide
Extrusions
heterogeneous catalysis
Hydrogen bromide
Low temperature
Methane
Methyl bromide
Natural gas
natural gas upgrading
Oxidation
Selectivity
Temperature effects
Upgrading
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Summary:The industrialization of bromine‐mediated natural gas upgrading is contingent on the ability to fully recycle hydrogen bromide (HBr), which is the end form of the halogen after the activation and coupling of the alkanes. Europium oxybromide (EuOBr) is introduced as a unique catalytic material to close the bromine loop via HBr oxidation, permitting low‐temperature operation and long lifetimes with a stoichiometric feed (O2:HBr=0.25)—conditions at which any catalyst reported to date severely deactivates because of excessive bromination. Besides, EuOBr exhibits unparalleled selectivity to methyl bromide in methane oxybromination, which is an alternative route for bromine looping. This novel active phase is finely dispersed on appropriate carriers and scaled up to technical extrudates, enhancing the utilization of the europium phase while preserving the performance. This catalytic system paves the way for sustainable valorization of stranded natural gas via bromine chemistry. Mind the gap: Europium‐oxybromide‐based materials are extraordinary catalysts for both HBr oxidation to Br2 and CH4 oxybromination to CH3Br. This enables a closed bromine loop for the sustainable upgrading of natural gas to fuels and chemicals.
ISSN:1433-7851
1521-3773
DOI:10.1002/anie.201704406