Enhancing the Production of Light Olefins by Catalytic Cracking of FCC Naphtha over Mesoporous ZSM-5 Catalyst

The enhanced production of light olefins from the catalytic cracking of FCC naphtha was investigated over a mesoporous ZSM-5 (Meso-Z) catalyst. The effects of acidity and pore structure on conversion, yields and selectivity to light olefins were studied in microactivity test (MAT) unit at 600 °C and different catalyst-to-naphtha (C/N) ratios. The catalytic performance of Meso-Z catalyst was compared with three conventional ZSM-5 catalysts having different SiO₂/Al₂O₃ (Si/Al) ratios of 22 (Z-22), 27 (Z-27) and 150 (Z-150). The yields of propylene (16 wt%) and ethylene (10 wt%) were significantly higher for Meso-Z compared with the conventional ZSM-5 catalysts. Almost 90% of the olefins in the FCC naphtha feed were converted to lighter olefins, mostly propylene. The aromatics fraction in cracked naphtha almost doubled in all catalysts indicating some level of aromatization activity. The enhanced production of light olefins for Meso-Z is attributed to its small crystals that suppressed secondary and hydrogen transfer reactions and to its mesopores that offered easier transport and access to active sites.     

Direct conversion of cellulose into polyols or H2 over Pt/Na(H)-ZSM-5

The direct conversion of cellulose into polyols such as ethylene glycol and propylene glycol was examined over Pt catalysts supported on H-ZSM-5 with different SiO₂/Al₂O₃ molar ratios. The Pt dispersion, determined by CO chemisorption and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), as well as the surface acid concentration measured by the temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia (NH₃-TPD), increased with decreasing SiO₂/Al₂O₃ molar ratio for Pt/H-ZSM-5. The total yield of the polyols, i.e., sorbitol, manitol, ethylene glycol and propylene glycol, generally increased with increasing Pt dispersion in Pt/H-ZSM-5. The one-pot aqueous-phase reforming of cellulose into H₂ was also examined over the same catalysts. The Pt catalyst supported on H-ZSM-5 with a moderate SiO₂/Al₂O₃ molar ratio and a large external surface area showed the highest H₂ production rate. The Pt dispersion, surface acidity, external surface area and surface hydrophilicity appear to affect the catalytic activity for this reaction.     

Influence of initial Si/Al ratios on the structural,acidic and catalytic properties of nanosized-ZSM-5/SBA-15 analog composites prepared from ZSM-5 precursors

Nano-ZSM-5/SBA-15 analog composites (ZSC) were prepared in a two-step process from ZSM-5 precursors with different Si/Al molar ratios (10–50) via high-temperature synthesis in mildly acidic media (200 °C, pH 3.5) aiming to evaluate the influence of the initial Si/Al ratio on their structural, acidic and catalytic properties. The resulting materials were characterized by SAXS, XRD, FTIR, TEM, N₂ sorption, ²⁷Al solid state-NMR, NH₃-TPD, FTIR spectroscopy of adsorbed pyridine, AAS and ICP-AES. Under the applied synthesis conditions, a ZSC material with controlled distribution of nano-ZSM-5 and SBA-15 analog phases can be prepared from ZSM-5 precursors by adjusting the initial Si/Al ratio in the range of 20–30. Increasing the initial Si/Al ratio to 50, only ZSM-5 nanocrystals were obtained whereas reducing the initial Si/Al ratio to 10 led to the formation of a disordered mesoporous SBA-15 analog. The total acidity increases with the crystallinity of the ZSM-5 phase as varying the Si/Al ratio from 10 to 30 despite the decreased amount of incorporated aluminum. However, the acidity declines slightly when raising the Si/Al ratio to 50 because of the low incorporated aluminum. The catalytic performance of the ZSC materials compared to the reference materials, i.e. purely mesoporous Al-SBA-15 and purely microporous H-ZSM-5 was assessed in the gas phase cracking of cumene and 1,3,5-tri-isopropylbenzene (TIPB) as test reactions. The results show that a balanced ratio of nano-ZSM-5 and SBA-15 analog phases obtained by tuning the initial Si/Al ratio is crucial to achieve superior catalytic performance of the ZSC materials in the cracking of both cumene and TIPB.     

Preparation and application of Ba/ZSM-5 zeolite for reaction of methyl vinyl ether and methanol

The ZSM-5 zeolite is widely used to catalyze the reactions of methanol to olefins. Herein, we have prepared the H-ZSM-5 doped with barium (Ba/ZSM-5) using incipient wetness impregnation method. The Ba modified catalysts were used to catalyze a new reaction of methanol with methyl vinyl ether to improve the selectivity of ethylene and propylene (C₂⁼ + C₃⁼). The reaction catalyzed by Ba doped H-ZSM-5 shows higher propylene selectivity over H-ZSM-5. The reaction mechanism is discussed.     

Influence of Catalyst Binders on the Acidity and Catalytic Performance of HZSM-5 Zeolites for Methanol-to-Propylene (MTP) Process: Single and Binary Binder System

The effect of the binders, such as silica, alumina, and aluminum phosphate solution (APS), was studied on the acidity and catalytic performance of HZSM-5 zeolite (SiO₂/Al₂O₃ = 80) in methanol-to-propylene (MTP) process. The strong acidity of catalyst increased slightly with alumina binder but decreased with silica and APS binders. It is noted that the catalyst with APS binder showed the highest bulk crush strength. Catalytic performance of the alumina or silica bound catalyst was comparable to that of pure HZSM-5 catalyst while that of APS bound catalyst was completely different depending on the binder content. Low content (10 wt%) of APS resulted in a dramatically enhanced propylene selectivity (>40 C mol%) due to the decrease in strong acidity. On the other hand with high content (>20 wt%) of APS, methanol was mostly dehydrated into dimethylether without further transformation into hydrocarbons even if the mechanical strength was significantly improved. The binary binder system was proposed not only to improve the mechanical strength of catalyst with small amount of APS binder but also to keep a high propylene selectivity. The catalyst bound with APS-and-alumina or APS-and-silica showed a comparable propylene selectivity to that of HZSM-5 with the 10 wt% of APS single binder while demonstrated much higher bulk crush strengths.     

Hexane activation over vanadium modified zeolite ZSM-5

The influence on the form of ZSM-5, vanadium content and the elimination of the exterior surface, on the activity and selectivity of n-hexane oxidation was studied using a fixed bed reactor. Blank reactor studies (carborundum packed reactor) showed no conversion below 450 °C with the highest conversion (8 %) at 500 °C. The dominant products were found to be carbon oxides (Sel./% = 90) with minor selectivities to the hexene isomers (7 %) with the remainder being cracked products, THF and benzene. H-ZSM-5 with different SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratios (100 and 320) and Na-ZSM-5 (SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratio of 100) were tested under non-oxidative conditions. As the ratio of the SiO₂/Al₂O₃ increased the aluminium content decreases and so too does the cracking ability of the zeolite (i.e. yield of cracked products dropped from 36 to 8 %). However, the use of the Na- form of the ZSM-5 zeolite completely eliminated acid cracking and therefore this system was further investigated. Na-V-ZSM-5 (~1 % loading) was synthesized using the solid state ion-exchange method. Time on stream experiments (fresh batch of catalyst for each experiment with sampling at the same time for a period of 24 h) were conducted and temperature (350, 400 and 450 °C), contact time (0.5, 0.8, 1.1 and 1.5 s) and fuel/air ratios (0.7, 1.3 and 2) were varied. The optimum conditions (Conv./% = 39) for terminal functionalised products were found to be at 400 °C at a contact time of 1.1 s and a fuel air ratio of 1.3. With the lower fuel air ratio of 0.7 (oxygen rich conditions), hexanal formation was favoured.     

Toluene destruction over nanometric palladium supported ZSM-5 catalysts: influences of support acidity and operation condition

The effects of catalyst physicochemical property and operation condition on toluene destruction over Pd/Z-x (Z: ZSM-5; x: n _Si/Al) were extensively studied. The support acidity has important impact on active phase dispersion and reaction product desorption. Pd/Z-25 shows the highest catalytic activity with toluene complete conversion at 220 °C, which is about 60 °C lower than that of Pd/Z-300. Both Pd loading and space velocity are key experimental factors determining toluene oxidation activity. The water vapor has a significant negative effect on the oxidation reaction, especially for the catalyst with higher Al content. The activity of the used Pd/Z-25 could not regain its initial level after removal of water vapor due to the formation of coke. Pd⁰ and Pd²⁺ species have a synergetic effect on toluene oxidation, and the catalytic activity is primarily correlated to the support acidity, the active phase dispersion, and the CO₂ desorption capability.     

Facile synthesis of HZSM-5 with controlled crystal morphology and size as efficient catalysts for chlorinated hydrocarbons oxidation and xylene isomerization

ZSM-5 zeolites with controllable crystal morphologies (microsphere self-assembled from nanorod crystals, round-boat and cross shape) were synthesized in extremely diluted solutions (H₂O/SiO₂ = 350) by only adjusting the tetrapropylammonium hydroxide concentration under dynamic or static condition. The synthesized ZSM-5 were characterized by X-ray diffraction, infrared spectra, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, N₂ sorption and NH₃ temperature programmed desorption, and compared with the commercial ZSM-5 zeolite. Catalytic tests for the formation of p-xylene from o-xylene isomerization and the catalytic oxidation of chlorinated hydrocarbons showed that ZSM-5 microsphere composed of nanorod crystals exhibited both high conversion and improved p-xylene selectivity, and high catalytic activities for 1,2-dichloroethane and chlorobenzene oxidation and low selectivity to chlorinated by-products, which were attributed to the existence of nanosized ZSM-5 crystals and mesopores, high internal surface area and total acidity.     

Hydroisomerization of n-hexadecane over Brønsted acid site tailored Pt/ZSM-12

Hydroisomerization of n-hexadecane is performed over ZSM-12 framework having tailored Brønsted acidity to investigate the effect in terms of product selectivity and yield. For this purpose, pure phase of ZSM-12 (bulk molar ratio Si/Al ~ 60) has been synthesized using TEABr as a structure directing agent. The framework Brønsted acidity is tailored with group II elements (M) viz. Ca, Ba and Mg, by means of ion-exchange method. The samples so prepared have been characterized for phase purity, textural parameters, morphology by employing powder X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherm measurement at 77 K, and scanning electron microscopy technique, respectively. Similarly, % metal exchange is estimated using inductively coupled plasma technique. The quantification of Brønsted acidity for H⁺–M⁺⁺–ZSM-12 samples has been estimated by means of ammonia temperature programmed desorption (NH₃-TPD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of ammonia (NH₃-FTIR). The well characterized H⁺–M⁺⁺–ZSM-12 samples were loaded with Platinum (Pt, 0.5 wt%) and subjected to hydroisomerization of n-hexadecane using an up-flow fixed bed reactor to verify the effect of process parameters like temperature and WHSV. Pt/H⁺–Ba²⁺–ZSM-12 with tailored Brønsted acidity in the range of about 25 % demonstrated the optimum performance among all the catalysts with an increased isomer selectivity and yield (89.2 and 80.3 %, respectively) by about 4 wt% at a conversion level of about 90 % compared to Pt/H⁺–ZSM-12 framework at 568 K. Such enhancement in isomer selectivity and yield is found to be significant from commercial application point of view. Based on the obtained trend, the potential benefits of implementation of Pt/H⁺–Ba²⁺–ZSM-12 (bulk molar ratio Si/Al ~ 60) framework for cold flow property improvement of ‘bio-ATF’ have been envisaged.     

Aromatization of methane in the absence of oxygen over Mo-based catalysts supported on different types of zeolites

The catalytic performance of Mo-based catalysts supported on various zeolites has been studied for methane aromatization in the absence of oxygen in a fixed-bed continuous-flow quartz reactor, and their catalytic properties are correlated with features of zeolite structure. It was found that H-type silica–alumina zeolites, such as ZSM-5, ZSM-8, ZSM-11 and β possessing two-dimensional structure and pore diameter equaling the dynamic diameter of a benzene molecule (about 6 Å) simultaneously, are fine supports for methane activation and aromatization catalysts. Among them, MoO₃/H-ZSM-11 has the best activity and stability; for instance, a methane conversion of 8.0% and selectivity higher than 90% was obtained at 973 K. The catalytic performance of MoO₃/H-ZSM-8 is somewhat lower than that of MoO₃/H-ZSM-5, while activity of MoO₃/H-β is lower than that of MoO₃/H-ZSM-8. Catalysts supported on H-MCM-41 and H-SAPO-34 exhibit low activity for methane aromatization and those supported on H-MOR, H-X and H-Y give only a little amount of ethylene. Over MoO₃/H-SAPO-5 and MoO₃/H-SAPO-11 no hydrocarbons were detected.     

Methanol Conversion to Hydrocarbons (MTH) Over H-ITQ-13 (ITH) Zeolite

Product flexibility is key to meeting fluctuating chemicals demands in the future. In this contribution, the methanol to hydrocarbons (MTH) reaction was investigated over two Ge-containing H-ITQ-13 samples, one with needle-like (H-ITQ-13(N), with (Si+Ge)/Al) = 42) and another with plate-like (H-ITQ-13(P), with (Si+Ge)/Al > 100) morphology. The samples were characterised using XRD, BET, SEM/EDS and FTIR spectroscopy, and their MTH performance was compared with the performance of H-ZSM-5 and H-ZSM-22. Similar specific surface areas (413 and 455 m² g^?1 for H-ITQ-13(N) and (P), respectively) and similar acid strength (Δν ~ ?327(?310) cm^?1) was observed for the two H-ITQ-13 samples. Testing of H-ITQ-13(N) at weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) = 2–8 h^?1 at 350–450 °C revealed that C₅₊ alkenes were the main products (35–45 % selectivity at 400 °C), followed by propene and butene. A low but significant selectivity for aromatic products was observed (6–8 % selectivity at 400 °C). Product selectivity was found to be independent of deactivation. The methanol conversion capacity of H-ITQ-13(N) was 120–150 g methanol g^?1 catalyst at 400 °C. Testing H-ITQ-13 at high (30 atm) and ambient pressure, respectively, at 350 °C showed that a high pressure led to enhanced C₅₊ selectivity, but close to a tenfold decrease in methanol conversion capacity. H-ITQ-13(P) was tested at 400 °C and 2 h^?1. It gave lower conversion than H-ITQ-13(N). Furthermore, when compared at the same conversion level, H-ITQ-13(P) gave higher C₅₊ alkene selectivity, lower aromatics selectivity, and a higher propene to ethene ratio than H-ITQ-13(N). The H-ITQ-13 samples yielded a product spectrum intermediate of H-ZSM-22 and H-ZSM-5. The effluent product cut-off of H-ITQ-13 was similar to that of H-ZSM-5 with tetramethylbenzene as the largest significant product, while H-ZSM-22 produced mainly linear and branched alkenes. The lifetime of H-ITQ-13(N) was clearly enhanced compared to H-ZSM-22, but inferior to H-ZSM-5.     

Vapour phase synthesis of 3,5-dipropylpyridine over modified zeolites

3,5-Dipropylpyridine was synthesized selectively in vapour phase with valeraldehyde, formaldehyde and ammonia over modified ZSM-5 (SiO₂/Al₂O₃=30) catalysts at 400 °C. High conversion (>90%) and high yield (72%) were obtained over PbZSM-5(30). The activity was correlated with the acidity of the catalyst. The modified catalysts were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, ICP-MS, BET-surface area and temperature programmed desorption (TPD) of NH₃.     

Thermal-catalytic degradation kinetics of polypropylene over BEA,ZSM-5 and MOR zeolites

In this study, thermal degradation of additive-free polypropylene powder over different type of zeolite catalysts was investigated. BEA, ZSM-5 and MOR with different surface areas, pore structures, acidities and Si/Al molar ratios were used as solid catalysts for degradation of polypropylene (PP). Degradation rate of the PP over zeolites was studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) employing four different heating rates and apparent activation energies of the processes were determined by the Kissinger equation. The catalytic activity of zeolites decreases as BEA > ZSM-5a (Si/Al = 12.5) > ZSM-5b (Si/Al = 25) > MOR depending on pore size and acidity of the catalysts. On the other hand, initial degradation is relatively faster over MOR and BEA than that over both ZSM-5 catalysts depending on the apparent activation energy. It can be concluded that acidity of the catalyst is the most important parameter in determining the activity for polymer degradation process as well as other structural parameters, such as pore structure and size.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Platinum Impregnated Zn-ZSM5 Nanocatalysts for Xylene Isomerization Reactions

The influence of zinc to the synthesis of ZSM-5 nanocatalysts (Si/Al?=?24) was investigated in xylene isomerization reactions. Pt was doped through partial vacuum impregnation method on both the parent and Zn-ZSM-5. The synthesized nanocatalyst were characterized by ICP, BET, XRD, FE-SEM, XPS, ²⁷Al MAS NMR, FTIR, NH₃-TPD, and TG analysis. The concentration of weak acid sites of ZSM-5 nanocatalyst slightly decreased while that of strong acid sites increased with the addition of Zn to the nano zeolite structure. Reducing weak acidity resulted in lower coke formation and remarkable catalytic stability in Zn-ZSM-5 nanocatalysts. The precence of Pt on the Zn-containing ZSM-5 illustrated simultaneous high PX yield and high catalytic stability. (0.1 wt%)Pt/(0.8 wt%) Zn-ZSM-5 as an active and stable nanocatalyst for xylene isomerization reactions demonstrated high PX yield (32.6 wt%), high level of EB conversion (68%) and low xylene loss (2.1%).

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The dependence of Co2+-exchange into zeolite FAU on its Si/Al ratio

Three single crystals of fully dehydrated, largely Co²⁺-exchanged zeolites X and Y were prepared by the exchange of Na₈₀-X (|Na₈₀|[Si₁₁₂Al₈₀O₃₈₄]-FAU, Si/Al = 1.40), Na₇₅-Y (|Na₇₅|[Si₁₁₇Al₇₅O₃₈₄]-FAU, Si/Al = 1.56), and Na₇₁-Y (|Na₇₁|[Si₁₂₁Al₇₁O₃₈₄]-FAU, Si/Al = 1.70) with aqueous streams 0.05 M in Co(NO₃)₂, pH = 5.1, at 294 K for 3 days. This was followed by vacuum dehydration at 673 K. Their crystal structures were determined by synchrotron X-ray diffraction techniques in the cubic space group Fd \(\overline{3}\) m at 100(1) K. In all three crystals Co²⁺ ions occupy the 6-ring sites I, I’, and II; Na⁺ ions occupy sites II’ and II. The number of Co²⁺ ions exchanging into the zeolite was about 30 per unit cell for all three crystals. The number of residual Na⁺ ions, however, decreased sharply as Si/Al ratio increased, and the number of H⁺ ions co-exchanging into the zeolite decreased nearly to zero. Some dealumination of the zeolite framework was seen in the first crystal (initial Si/Al = 1.40).     

Preparation and Characterization of Pt/Al-ZSM-5 Catalysts and their Reactivities for the Oxidation of CO with N2O at Low Temperatures

Al-ZSM-5 was prepared by treating H-ZSM-5 with an aqueous solution of Al(NO₃)₃ and used as a support for Pt catalysts. The Pt-loaded Al-ZSM-5 acts as an efficient catalyst for CO oxidation with N₂O at 273 K. TEM investigations revealed that Pt clusters with an average particle size of around 1–1.5 nm were homogeneously dispersed within Al-ZSM-5. Moreover, FT-IR and XPS analyses indicated that the small Al₂O₃ clusters formed within Al-ZSM-5 plays a significant role in the formation of highly dispersed Pt clusters within the pore structure of the ZSM-5 zeolite, leading to the high catalytic activity of Pt/Al-ZSM-5 as compared to Pt/ZSM-5.     

Effect of crystal size and surface modification of ZSM-5 zeolites on conversion of ethanol to propylene

The conversion of ethanol to propylene was carried out over ZSM-5 zeolites (Si/Al ratio ≈ 20) with a small crystal size of ca. 30 nm. Catalyst deactivation was significantly suppressed over the nanometer-sized ZSM-5 zeolite, indicating that the small crystal was more tolerant to coking. On the other hand, the selectivity of this zeolite to propylene was lower than that of conventional ZSM-5 zeolites (ca. 2 μm). It was suggested that the large external surface area of the nanometer-sized ZSM-5 zeolite catalyzed undesired reactions. To elucidate the reason for the decreased selectivity, the external surfaces of the nanometer-sized crystals were covered with a very thin pure-silica ZSM-5 layer by a hydrothermal synthesis. The obtained crystal maintained the same crystal size and had a silica-rich surface (Si/Al ratio ≈ 50). After the surface modification, the selectivity to propylene was improved without any decrease in the catalyst life.     

A ZSM-5-based Catalyst for Efficient Production of Light Olefins and Aromatics from Fluidized-bed Naphtha Catalytic Cracking

A ZSM-5-based catalyst was prepared by spray-dry method for fluidized-bed naphtha catalytic cracking. Multi-techniques, such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, ²⁷Al MAS NMR, and NH₃–TPD, were employed for the investigation of ZSM-5 framework stability, framework dealumination, and catalyst acidity variation in hydrothermal treatment. Catalytic performances of fluidized-bed naphtha catalytic cracking at 630–680 °C indicated that light olefins and other value-added products could be more efficiently produced compared with the commercial process of thermal steam cracking. Long-term catalytic evaluation implied that naphtha catalytic cracking over the catalyst prepared with spray-dry method and hydrothermal treatment can be carried out at a variable reaction condition with a relatively high and stable light olefins yield.     

High efficient mesoporous HZSM-5 nanocatalyst development through desilication with mixed alkaline solution for methanol to olefin reaction

Methanol to olefin (MTO) process is a non-oil route for the light olefins production. We report the mesoporous and high siliceous HZSM-5 nanocatalyst development through the new desilication process including the mixed alkaline solution. The properties of nanocatalysts were characterized using TGA/DTA, XRD, ICP, FE-SEM, BET, FT-IR, and NH₃-TPD techniques. FE-SEM images represent the spherical morphology of parent nanocatalyst including smooth surface. The XRD analysis confirms that applied desilication does not change the typical MFI-type structure of ZSM-5 nanocatalysts. The BET and NH₃-TPD results show that mixed alkaline solution including 40 wt% TPAOH results in the best adjustment of textural (299.7 m²/g) and acidity (strong/weak ratio of 0.21) properties, respectively. The PHZ-NaTP0.4 nanocatalyst represents the highest methanol conversion (99.2%), propylene selectivity (48.3%), C₃ ⁼/C₂ ⁼ molar ratio (7.4) as well as lowest selectivity to C₁–C₄ alkanes (4.6%) for long time on stream (170 h). The low selectivity of light alkanes (C₁–C₄) and high total light olefins (ca. 75%) confirm the stable performance of nanocatalyst. Consequently, the developed PHZ-NaTP0.4 nanocatalyst is a high efficient MTO catalyst and can be candidate for commercial scale up.     

The Effect of Different Active Sites on the Catalytic Activity of Fe-ZSM-5 Zeolite for N2O Direct Decomposition

Fe-modified ZSM-5 zeolites (Si/Al = 25) were prepared by adopting the liquid ion-exchange method with nitrate and oxalate of iron as Fe precursors and their catalytic performance was studied in the N₂O decomposition reaction. The results of FT-IR and H₂-TPR investigations indicated that (i) part of the iron ions could replace Brönsted acid protons at the straight channel wall (α sites), intersection of straight and sinusoidal channels (β sites), and sinusoidal channel wall (γ sites) within the ZSM-5 zeolite; and (ii) different Fe precursors gave rise to various distributions of α, β, and γ sites. We observed that the Fe-ZSM-5 catalyst prepared with iron oxalate as Fe precursor outperformed the ones prepared with iron nitrate as Fe precursor in the direct decomposition of N₂O. Furthermore, the catalytic activity of iron ions located at the α sites was higher than those of iron ions located at the β and γ sites.