Ethanol Conversion to C₄₊ Olefins over Bimetallic Copper- And Lanthanum-Containing Beta Zeolite Catalysts

Ethanol conversion to C₄₊ olefins remains a critical yet nonselective process for producing renewable middle distillates. Here, Cu–La/Beta catalysts composed of copper and lanthanum incorporated onto a dealuminated Beta support are reported for ethanol conversion to C₄₊ olefins (73% selectivity, ∼98% ethanol conversion, 623 K,<4% C₁–C₃ hydrocarbons) which particularly favors C₅₊ olefin formation (43% selectivity) as a distinction from the benchmarking Cu–Y/Beta catalyst. Monometallic Cu/Beta or La/Beta samples are insufficient to catalyze the C₄₊ olefin formation and primarily form dehydration products (e.g., ethylene and diethyl ether), indicating the necessity of both Cu and La species for butene and C₅₊ olefin formation. Increasing the bulk La loading at a fixed Cu content yields higher C₅₊ olefins until the La/Cu molar ratio reaches 3.6. These findings indicate Cu–La/Beta as an effective ethanol conversion catalyst that facilitates multiple C–C bond formation events required for synthesizing C₅₊ olefins (i.e., hexenes and octenes).