Aliyah Abdullah Alsharif

Title : Gas-phase dehydroisomerization of alpha-pinene to para cymene catalyzed by metal oxides

Abstract:

Zn(II) and Zn(II)-Cr(III) oxides are demonstrated to be efficient, noble-metal-free catalysts for one-step dehydroisomerization of alpha-pinene to para-cymene in the gas phase. This is an example of the use of heterogeneous catalysis for the conversion of renewable feedstock into value-added chemicals. The reaction was carried out in a fixed-bed reactor at 350-370 ^oC to yield 90% of para-cymene at 100% alpha-pinene conversion. The catalysts showed stable performance for over 24 hours. The proposed reaction mechanism involves acid-catalyzed alpha-pinene isomerization followed by dehydrogenation of para-cymene precursors.

Biography:

Aliyah Alsharif is a 1^st year Ph.D. student in the University of Liverpool, UK. She received her MS in 2015 from King Saud University KSU in Saudi Arabia. Then she obtained a scholarship to study for a Ph.D. in the UK. She joined the research group of Prof. Ivan Kozhevnikov at the University of Liverpool.