Optimal analysis of C4 olefin preparation by ethanol coupling under the influence of multiple factors

The production of C₄ olefins by petroleum catalytic cracking is costly and harmful to the environment. For the chemical reaction of ethanol coupling to produce C₄ olefin, a Co/SiO_2- HAP catalyst with both acid and base activity was introduced. The ethanol conversion and C₄ olefin selectivity of the reaction under different catalyst ratios were experimentally studied, and a two-factor variance model was constructed to reasonably explain the effects of temperature and catalyst. On this basis, the BP neural network optimization algorithm based on genetic algorithm (BP-GA joint algorithm) was used to study the optimal coupling reaction conditions. The optimal catalyst combination is 265 mg 1.1 wt% Co/SiO₂-236 mg HAP, the optimal concentration of ethanol is 1.95 ml/min, and the optimal temperature is 390°C, which are of high similarity to the theoretical analysis results and have strong reliability. Under these conditions, the ethanol conversion rate is up to 97.6%, and the selectivity of C₄ olefin is 64.5%, showing the best target reaction effect, which has practical significance for the actual chemical production.