Method for the dehydrogenation of hydrocarbons

1. A process for the heterogeneously catalyzed dehydrogenation in one or more reaction zones of one or more dehydrogenatable C 2 -C 30 -hydrocarbons in a reaction gas mixture comprising them, with at least part of the heat of dehydrogenation required being generated directly in the reaction gas mixture in at least one reaction zone by combustion of hydrogen, the hydrocarbon or hydrocarbons and/or carbon in the presence of an oxygen-containing gas, wherein the reaction gas mixture comprising the dehydrogenatable hydrocarbon or hydrocarbons is brought into contact with a Lewis-acid dehydrogenation catalyst which has essentially no Bronsted acidity, wherein the dehydrogenation catalyst has a Lewis acidity of greater than 3 acidity units (AU), determinable from IR absorption spectra of pyridine adsorbed on the catalyst.

2. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the dehydrogenation catalyst comprises a metal oxide selected from the group consisting of zirconium dioxide, aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide, magnesium oxide, lanthanum oxide and cerium oxide.

3. A process as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the dehydrogenation catalyst comprises zirconium dioxide and/or silicon dioxide.

4. A process as claimed in any of claim 1 , wherein the dehydrogenation catalyst comprises at least one element of transition group VIII, at least one element of main group I or II, at least one element of main group III or IV and at least one element of transition group III including the lanthanides and actinides.

5. A process as claimed in any of claim 1 , wherein the dehydrogenation catalyst comprises platinum and/or palladium.

6. A process as claimed in any of claim 1 , wherein the dehydrogenation catalyst comprises cesium and/or potassium.

7. A process as claimed in any of claim 1 , wherein the dehydrogenation catalyst comprises lanthanum and/or cerium.

8. A process as claimed in any of claim 1 , wherein the dehydrogenation catalyst comprises tin.

9. A process as claimed in any of claim 1 , wherein the dehydrogenation catalyst has a bimodal pore radius distribution in which from 70% to 100% of the pores have a pore diameter less than 20 nm or in the range from 40 to 5000 nm.

10. A process as claimed in any of claim 1 , wherein the reaction gas mixture comprises water vapor.

11. A process as claimed in any of claim 1 , wherein hydrogen is added to the reaction gas mixture.

12. A process as claimed in claim 11 , wherein at least one reaction zone contains a catalyst which selectively catalyzes the combustion reaction of hydrogen and oxygen in the presence of hydrocarbons.

13. A process as claimed in any of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst which catalyzes the combustion of hydrogen comprises oxides or phosphates selected from the group consisting of the oxides and phosphates of germanium, tin, lead, arsenic, antimony and bismuth.

14. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the catalyst which which selectively catalyzes the combustion of hydrogen comprises a noble metal of transition group VIII or I.

15. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the dehydrogenation is carried out in a tray reactor.

16. A process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the dehydrogenation catalyst has a Lewis acidity of greater than 6 acidity units (AU), determinable from IR absorption spectra of pyridine adsorbed on the catalyst.

17. A process as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the dehydrogenation catalyst comprises a metal oxide selected form the group consisting of zirconium dioxide, aluminium oxide, silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide, magnesium oxide, lanthanum oxide and cerium oxide.

18. A process as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the dehydrogenation catalyst comprises zirconium dioxide and silicon dioxide.