Chemical Looping: A Sustainable Approach for Upgrading Light Hydrocarbons to Value-Added Olefins

In recent times, chemical looping offered a sustainable alternative for upgrading light hydrocarbons into olefins. Olefins are valuable platform chemicals that are utilized for diverse applications. To close the wide shortfall in their global supply, intensified efforts are ongoing to develop on-purpose production technologies. Herein, we provide discussions on the emerging olefin production routes and chemical looping as a frontier concept in catalytic production of chemicals, especially light olefins. Moreover, we discuss the various rational strategies for designing and tuning of oxygen carriers with high catalytic activity and tailored selectivity to desired products. These strategies include creation of oxygen vacancies, controlled doping, synergistic metal-support interactions, regulating oxygen mobility, modulation of crystal structure, functionalization and controlled treatment. The insights presented aim to inspire the development of robust, stable, and efficient oxygen carriers, ensuring catalytic activity, selectivity, and prolonged operational stability.