Acid-catalyzed cracking of polystyrene

The effects of catalyst acidity and the restricted reaction volume afforded by HZSM-5 on the volatile cracking products derived from poly(styrene) are investigated. Three catalysts: silica/alumina, HZSM-5, and sulfated zirconia, were employed as cracking catalysts. Styrene, which is the principal radical depolymerization product from poly(styrene), is a minor catalytic cracking product. The most abundant volatile product generated by catalytic cracking is benzene. Alkyl benzenes and indanes are also detected in significant yields. Various thermal analysis techniques are employed to obtain volatilization activation energies for polymer-catalyst samples and to elucidate probable reaction pathways. Detected products are explained by reaction mechanisms that begin with protonation of poly(styrene) aromatic rings. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 63: 1287–1298, 1997     

Effects of catalyst acidity and HZSM-5 channel volume on the catalytic cracking of poly(ethylene)

The effects of catalyst acidity and the restricted reaction volume afforded by the HZSM-5 zeolite structure on the volatile cracking products derived from poly(ethylene) are investigated. The effectiveness of silica-alumina, HZSM-5, and sulfated zirconia acid catalysts for poly(ethylene) cracking are compared. When high catalyst to polymer ratios are employed and volatile products are rapidly removed during cracking, the most abundant volatile products generated by poly(ethylene) cracking are propene and isoalkenes. The relative amount of propene produced and the temperatures corresponding to the maximum rate of volatile hydrocarbon production are found to be related to catalyst acidity. The restricted volume inside HZSM-5 channels facilitates oligomerization and the production of small alkyl aromatics. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

In situ analysis of volatiles obtained from the catalytic cracking of polyethylene

The effects of the solid‐acid‐catalyst pore size and acidity on polyethylene catalytic cracking were examined with a comparison of the temperature‐dependent volatile‐product‐slate changes when the polymer was cracked with HZSM‐5 and HY zeolites and the protonated form of MCM‐41. Volatile‐product distributions depended on the catalyst acidity and pore size. With HZSM‐5, paraffins were detected initially, and olefins were produced at somewhat higher temperatures. Aromatics were formed at temperatures 30–40°C higher than those required for olefin production. Small olefins (C₃–C₅) were the most abundant products when HZSM‐5 and MCM‐41 catalysts were employed for cracking polyethylene. In contrast, cracking with HY produced primarily paraffin volatile products (C₄–C₈). HY pores were large enough and the acid sites were strong enough to promote disproportionation reactions, which led to the formation of volatile paraffins. Compared with the other catalysts, HZSM‐5 with its smaller pores inhibited residue formation and facilitated the production of small alkyl aromatics. Volatile‐product variations could be rationalized by a consideration of the combined effects of catalyst acidity and pore size on carbenium ion reaction pathways. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 3118–3125, 2001     

Solid-acid-catalyzed alkane cracking mechanisms: evidence from reactions of small probe molecules

This review is a summary of the mechanisms of catalytic cracking of small (C₃-C₆) alkanes. Most of the evidence has arisen from product distributions and kinetics of cracking of these alkanes, interpreted on the basis of solution carbocation chemistry and theoretical chemistry. Cracking of small alkanes catalyzed by solid acids such as the zeolite HZSM-5 proceeds by two mechanisms: (1) The unimolecular (protolytic cracking) mechanism, which proceeds via an alkanium ion formed by protonation of the alkane by the catalyst. This supposed transition state collapses to give either H₂ and a carbenium ion or an alkane and a carbenium ion; the carbenium ions give up protons to the catalyst to form alkenes. The cracking products include methane and ethane as well as H₂. (2) The classical (bimolecular) cracking mechanism, which involves carbenium ion chain carriers that react with the alkane reactant to abstract hydrides and generate carbenium ions that undergo β-scission. The products include alkanes and alkenes, but not methane, ethane, or H₂. Because protolytic cracking gives alkene products, which are much stronger bases than alkanes, the alkenes become the predominant proton acceptors as conversions increase, and thus bimolecular cracking prevails at all but the lowest conversions. Protolytic cracking in the near absence of secondary reactions has been observed only for propane and n-butane at low conversions; secondary reactions appear to be generally significant for other alkanes. Although the product distributions are qualitatively understood, there are still inconsistencies in the literature of quantitative product distributions and kinetics, and more experimental work is needed with standard catalysts such as HZSM-5. Theoretical chemistry is leading to deeper understanding of the transition states, showing that cracking mechanisms involving bare carbocations are oversimplified. Rather, the catalyst surface must be included, and it has been simulated by clusters that are zeolite fragments. Surface alkoxides are more stable than surface carbenium ions, and cracking takes place by concerted bond breaking and formation. Theoretical activation energies for protolytic cracking of alkanes are close to experimental activation energies that have been corrected for the adsorption energy of the reactant, but it appears that more theoretical work (as well as better data) is required for satisfactory agreement of theory and experiment. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Cracking of n-heptane over Brønsted acid sites and Lewis acid Ga sites in ZSM-5 zeolite

A series of gallium-containing ZSM-5 zeolites prepared by wet impregnation, ion-exchange and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods are compared in the cracking of n-heptane. Impregnation results in the dispersion of some of the gallium oxide clusters into the zeolite pore network as charge-compensating Ga species after calcination. Reduction of impregnated Ga/HZSM-5 catalysts leads to complete transformation of the oxidic Ga precursors to charge-compensating Ga⁺ and GaH²⁺ species. A small amount of divalent GaH²⁺ species can be stabilized; however, with increasing Ga/Al ratio monovalent cations dominate. While a model Ga/HZSM-5 catalyst prepared by CVD of Ga(CH₃)₃ containing mainly charge-compensating Ga cations displays high selectivity to dehydrogenated products (olefins, toluene and coke), catalysts with a lower Ga/Al ratio display improved activity with a product mixture resulting from contributions of Ga sites (dehydrogenation, aromatization, olefin cracking) and of Brønsted acid sites (protolytic cracking, olefin cracking). The synergy between Ga dehydrogenation sites and Brønsted acid sites is proposed to improve the dehydrogenation rate: the high acidity of the zeolitic proton facilitates hydrogen recombination and concomitant removal of product olefin from the Ga active sites. Ion-exchanged Ga/HZSM-5 catalyst which combines a difficult to reduce gallium oxide phase and high Brønsted acidity has the highest activity with relatively weak coke formation.     

Catalytic degradation of polypropylene I. Screening of catalysts

The catalytic degradation of polypropylene has been investigated in this study. Solid acid catalysts, such as silica-alumina and zeolites (HZSM-5, natural zeolite, Mordenite etc.), were screened for polypropylene degradation in the range of 350-450‡C. The degradation products of polypropylene, especially a liquid fraction, formed over solid acid catalysts, were analyzed by GC/MS. The degradation products are distributed in a narrow range of carbon number compared with those obtained by thermal degradation. The liquid fraction contained large amounts of iso-paraffins and aromatics as are present in the gasoline traction of petroleum. The natural zeolite catalyst (clinoptilolite structure, occurring in Youngil area of Korea) was an efficient catalyst for the polypropylene degradation. The acidity and characteristic pore structure of this zeolite appear to be responsible for the good performance. The effects of temperature and reaction tune on the product distribution have also been studied in this work.     

Liquefaction of municipal waste plastics in VGO over acidic and non-acidic catalysts

Co-processing of municipal waste plastics (MWP) with vacuum gas oil (VGO) over HZSM-5, DHC-8 (commercial silica-alumina catalyst) and cobalt loaded active carbon catalyst has been comparatively studied. Co-processing experiments were carried out under hydrogen atmosphere at temperatures between 425 and 450 °C. The composition, sulphur and chlorine amount of liquid products were determined. The product distribution and the composition of liquids were changed depending upon the temperature and the catalyst type. As expected temperature led to increase in cracking activity of catalysts. DHC-8 and HZSM-5 showed substantially different activities in co-processing due to the difference in their acidity. HZSM-5 gave highest gas yield at all temperatures and highest liquid yield (38.3) at low temperature. Although Co-AC was a neutral catalyst, it showed the cracking activity as well as HZSM-5 and more than DHC-8. No chlorine compound was observed in liquid products. The sulphur amount in liquid products varied with the catalyst type. Although HZSM-5 showed good cracking activity at low temperatures, it gave the liquid product containing highest sulphur amount. By considering both the quantity and quality of liquid fuel obtained from co-processing, it may be concluded that Co-AC gave the best result in the co-processing of the MWP/VGO blend. To observe the effect of metal type loaded on active carbon on catalyst activity, a series of co-processing experiments was also carried out.     

Methane and ethane activation without adding oxygen: promotional effect of W in Mo-W/HZSM-5

The conversions of methane and ethane over Mo/HZSM-5 and W/HZSM-5 catalysts are compared. A reaction model for hydrocarbon formation over Mo/HZSM-5 catalysts is proposed, which involves heterolytic splitting of methane and a molybdenum-carbene intermediate. Ethene is shown to be the initial product of methane conversion, and it undergoes further reaction to form aromatics in a solid acid environment. The promotional effect of addition of tungsten in the Mo-W/HZSM-5 catalyst in methane conversion reaction suggests the formation of Mo-W mixed oxide. The product selectivity patterns of Mo/HZSM-5 and W/HZSM-5 catalysts in ethane conversion reaction are consistent with a dual-path model involving dehydrogenation and cracking (or hydrogenolysis) of ethane. The rates of both these reactions over Mo/HZSM-5 are higher than over W/HZSM-5.     

Catalytic cracking of 1-butene to propylene by Ag modified HZSM-5

Silver modified HZSM-5 (AgHZ) zeolite catalysts were prepared by ion exchange method and their catalytic properties in the 1-butene cracking reaction were measured. The catalysts were characterized by infrared spec-troscopy with pyridine adsorption (Py-IR), N2 adsorption and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The effects of Ag loading and steaming treatment on catalytic performances were studied. It is found that the activity of HZSM-5 (HZ) cat-alyst significantly decreases with the steaming time, whereas AgHZ catalysts show stable activity in the steaming time of 24–48 h and their activities increase with the Ag loading. When the steaming time is 24–48 h, the yield of propylene over HZ catalyst significantly decreases, whereas it is stable over AgHZ catalysts. The AgHZ catalysts with Ag loadings of 0.28%–0.43%(by mass) show similar propylene yields (~30%), which are higher than that over the AgHZ catalyst with a Ag loading of 0.55%(by mass). These results indicate that the steam-treated AgHZ catalysts with optimum Ag loadings have higher yield of propylene and are more stable than the steam-treated HZ catalyst. The regeneration stability measurement in butene cracking also shows that the AgHZ catalyst steam-treated under a suitable condition has better stability than the HZ catalyst.     

硅烷化和有机弱碱改性Mo/HZSM-5对甲烷无氧芳构化催化性能的影响

催化剂的形态及晶粒的组装对其催化性能有重要影响,采用硅烷化处理对Mo基催化剂表面酸性进行毒化制备了核壳型（Mo基催化剂@Silicalite-1）复合材料;采用四丙基氢氧化铵或正丁胺有机弱碱对Mo/HZSM-5进行刻蚀,然后经过脱硅再结晶分别制备了表面富硅型中空结构Mo/HZSM-5微球和表面富硅、核内含有多级孔道的Mo/HZSM-5微球。采用XRD、TEM、N₂等温吸脱附和NH₃-TPD对催化剂结构进行表征,并考察了三种不同后处理方法对Mo基催化剂在甲烷无氧芳构化反应中催化性能的影响。硅烷化和有机碱处理均能够调变Mo/HZSM-5催化剂的表面酸性,而经有机碱处理以后,催化剂结晶度、介孔比表面积和孔容均具有不同程度的增加,三种不同后处理方法均能改善Mo/HZSM-5催化剂的反应稳定性,对产物的分布也产生了显著影响。     

Intermolecular cyclization of ethanolamine to 1,4-diazabicyclo (2.2.2) octane over modified pentasil zeolites

The synthesis of 1,4-diazabicyclo (2.2.2) octane (DABCO) over modified ZSM-5 catalysts was carried out selectively in vapor phase with high conversion and yields. Pb, Zr and Cr-modified HZSM-5 zeolites with medium acidity gave high yields of DABCO. The acid sites of medium strength are found to be active for the selective synthesis of DABCO. The life of the catalyst was significantly improved by tuning various reaction parameters. The optimization of reaction parameters like mole ratio of the feed, weight hour space velocity, time on stream, effect of additives in the feed and the mechanism of selective formation of DABCO are described.     

催化剂结构与焦油模型化合物裂解行为的关联性

以Ni（NO₃）₂·6H₂O为镍源,分别以HZSM-5（Si/Al=25）、HZSM-5（Si/Al=50）、HZSM-5（Si/Al=200）、USY、Al₂O₃为载体制备了5种镍基催化剂,采用XRD、H₂-TPR、BET、NH₃-TPD等方法对其进行了表征,在固定床反应器中考察了上述催化剂对煤焦油模型化合物甲苯+芘的催化裂解性能。结果表明,相比惰性载体石英砂,在催化剂作用下,液相产物中轻质芳烃种类明显增多。3种Ni/HZSM-5催化剂的比表面积和平均孔径较为接近,然而酸性中心数量最多的Ni/HZSM-5（Si/Al=25）,对甲苯+芘的裂解能力最强,体现为液体产物收率最低（仅为15.95%）,气产率和析碳率均最高,分别达16.73%和67.32%。在酸性中心数量相近的Ni/HZSM-5（Si/Al=200）与Ni/Al₂O₃作用下,液体产物收率差别较小,但后者的芘裂解率比前者高41.47%,主要是由于后者的平均孔径比前者高1.64倍,说明平均孔径大有利于重质组分芘的裂解。综合考虑液体产物收率、气产率、析碳率和芘的裂解率,Ni/Al₂O₃更适合甲苯+芘裂解反应体系。     

nMnOx·HZSM-5催化正丁烷裂解增产乙烯丙烯性能研究

采用等体积浸渍法制备nMnO_x·HZSM-5 系列催化剂,用XRD 、NH₃-TPD 、Py-IR 、BET 和SEM 等表征催化剂物相结构和表面性质。在固定床微型反应装置中,对nMnO_x·HZSM-5催化剂进行正丁烷裂解性能评价。结果表明,活性组分Mn借助固相反应以MnO_x 簇形式定位于HZSM-5 分子筛的直形和Z形孔道交叉处,并与其骨架氧结合形成nMnO_x·HZSM-5单相复合体,引起分子筛骨架收缩,晶胞参数及晶胞体积减小;nMnO_x·HZSM-5 催化剂样品总酸量和强酸中心酸量随活性组分Mn用量的增大逐渐减小,B酸/L酸逐渐下降;在反应温度625 ℃和空速5 600 h^-1条件下,Mn质量分数0.5%制备的nMnO_x·HZSM-5-0.5催化剂催化正丁烷裂解反应,正丁烷转化率为76.26%,略低于HZSM-5 分子筛,但乙烯和丙烯收率分别为13.68%和18.93%,分别提高 0.76 个百分点和 1.09 个百分点,表现出较好的增产乙烯和丙烯效果。     

Pyrolysis of an LDPE-LLDPE-EVA copolymer mixture over various mesoporous catalysts

The aim of the present work was to study the performance of mesoporous catalysts in the catalytic cracking of an LDPE+LLDPE+EVA copolymer. Mesoporous catalysts, including MCM-41, Nano-MCM-41, Al-Nano-MCM-41, MMZ-ZSM-5 and Meso-MFI, were applied for this reaction. Also, microporous HZSM-5 was used for a comparison. All of the catalysts showed higher decomposition abilities than thermal decomposition. The catalytic conversion of the LDPE+LLDPE+EVA copolymer was highest with the use of Meso-MFI due to its pore size and strong Br?nsted acidity, with high selectivity for lower olefin and gasoline range hydrocarbon. Both MMZ-ZSM-5 and Al-Nano-MCM-41 have an acid site that induced the decomposition reactions, and thus, produced compounds with lower carbon numbers in liquid products. MCM-41, which exhibits no acidity, showed a similar distribution of liquid products to that via thermal cracking, while Nano-MCM-41 showed better catalytic cracking ability due to its high surface area.     

Bifunctional Catalysis of Mo/HZSM-5 in the Dehydroaromatization of Methane to Benzene and Naphthalene XAFS/TG/DTA/MASS/FTIR Characterization and Supporting Effects

The direct conversion of methane to aromatics such as benzene and naphthalene has been studied on a series of Mo-supported catalysts using HZSM-5, FSM-16, mordenite, USY, SiO₂, and Al₂O₃as the supporting materials. Among all the supports used, the HZSM-5-supported Mo catalysts exhibit the highest yield of aromatic products, achieving over 70% total selectivity of the hydrocarbons on a carbon basis at 5–12% methane conversion at 973 K and 1 atm. By contrast, less than 20% of the converted methane is transformed to hydrocarbon products on the other Mo-supported catalysts, which are drastically deactivated, owing to serious coke formation. The XANES/EXAFS and TG/DTA/mass studies reveal that the zeolite-supported Mo oxide is endothermally converted with methane around 955 K to molybdenum carbide (Mo₂C) cluster (Mo-C, C.N.=1,R=2.09 Å; Mo-Mo, C.N.=2.3–3.5;R=2.98 Å), which initiates the methane aromatization yielding benzene and naphthalene at 873–1023 K. Although both Mo₂C and HZSM-5 support alone have a very low activity for the reaction, physically mixed hybrid catalysts consisting of 3 wt% Mo/SiO₂+HZSM-5 and Mo₂C+HZSM-5 exhibited a remarkable promotion to enhance the yields of benzene and naphthalene over 100–300 times more than either component alone. On the other hand, it was demonstrated by the IR measurement in pyridine adsorption that the Mo/HZSM-5 catalysts having the optimum SiO₂/Al₂O₃ratios, around 40, show maximum Brönsted acidity among the catalysts with SiO₂/Al₂O₃ratios of 20–1900. There is a close correlation between the activity of benzene formation in methane aromatization and the Brönsted acidity of Mo/HZSM-5, but not Lewis aciditiy. It was found that maximum benzene formation was obtained on the Moz/HZSM-5 having SiO₂/Al₂O₃ratios of 20–49, but substantially poor activities on those with SiO₂/Al₂O₃ratios smaller and higher than 40. The results suggest that methane is dissociated on the molybdenum carbide cluster supported on HZSM-5 having optimum Brönsted acidity to form CH_x(x>1) and C₂-species as the primary intermediates which are oligomerized subsequently to aromatics such as benzene and naphthalene at the interface of Mo₂C and HZSM-5 zeolite having the optimum Brönsted acidity. The bifunctional catalysis of Mo/HZSM for methane conversion towards aromatics is discussed by analogy with the promotion mechanism on the Pt/Al₂O₃catalyst for the dehydro-aromatization of alkanes.     

高温水蒸汽处理对HZSM-5分子筛催化甲醇制丙烯的影响

考察不同硅铝比的HZSM-5分子筛催化剂和经过高温水蒸汽处理后的HZSM-5分子筛催化剂在甲醇制丙烯反应中的催化性能,考察温度和空速对催化反应的影响。结果表明,随着HZSM-5分子筛硅铝比的增加,产物中丙烯选择性增大,可能是分子筛的酸性降低所致;经过高温水蒸汽处理后的HZSM-5分子筛表面酸性降低,提高了催化剂的催化性能。在反应温度450 ℃和空速1.0 h^-1条件下,600 ℃高温水蒸汽处理后的催化剂HT-600的丙烯选择性从改性前的26.8%提高到33.5%。     

Catalytic conversion of postconsumer PE/PP waste into hydrocarbons using the FCC process with an equilibrium FCC commercial catalyst

A mixture of postconsumer polyolefin waste (PE/PP) was pyrolyzed over cracking catalysts using a fluidizing reaction system similar to the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process operating isothermally at ambient pressure. Experiments carried out with various catalysts gave good yields of valuable hydrocarbons with differing selectivity in the final products dependent on reaction conditions. Greater product selectivity was observed with a commercial FCC equilibrium catalyst (Ecat‐F1) with more than 50 wt % olefins products in the C₃‐C₆ range. A kinetic model based on a lumping reaction scheme for the observed products and catalyst coking deactivations has been investigated. The model gave a good representation of experiment results. Moreover, this model provides the benefits of lumping product selectivity, in each reaction step, in relation to the performance of the FCC equilibrium catalyst used, the effect of reaction temperature, and the particle size selected. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

固体酸对二氧化碳加氢合成二甲醚催化剂性能的影响

以Cu-ZnO-Al2O3催化剂作为甲醇合成组分,以不同固体酸作为脱水组分,制备了一系列CO2加氢合成二甲醚的复合催化剂。研究表明CO2的转化率与固体酸的酸性无关,而取决于Cu-ZnO-Al2O3催化剂上甲醇的合成速率;二甲醚的选择性取决于固体酸的酸量和酸强度,脱水速率与固体酸的中/强酸有关。HZSM-5分子筛作为复合催化剂脱水组分时,二甲醚的收率最高;硅铝比对CO2转化率无影响,但可显著地影响二甲醚选择性;低硅铝比的HZSM-5更适合作为CO2加氢合成二甲醚复合催化剂的脱水组分。     

改性HZSM-5对甲醇制汽油反应性能的影响

对HZSM-5分子筛改性是提高甲醇制汽油反应催化性能的有效方式,分别用非金属、稀土金属及水热处理对HZSM-5分子筛催化剂进行改性,考察改性方法对HZSM-5分子筛酸性、孔径和比表面积等性质的影响,同时对改性HZSM-5分子筛催化剂催化甲醇制汽油的汽油收率和芳烃含量等指标进行比较。结果表明,经La改性的催化剂可明显提高汽油收率,水热处理的催化剂反应产物汽油中的均四甲苯含量大幅增加。改性催化剂对反应的影响可一定程度验证相关理论。     

Hβ/HZSM-5 Composite Carrier Supported Catalysts for Olefins Reduction of FCC Gasoline Via Hydroisomerization and Aromatization

In order to develop a novel catalyst system that has excellent olefin reduction ability for FCC gasoline without loss in research octane number (RON), different catalysts supported on single- and binary-zeolite carriers consisting of Hβ or/and HZSM-5 were prepared and their catalytic performances for FCC gasoline upgrading were assessed in the present investigation. Acidity measurements by pyridine-adsorbed Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed that hydroisomerization and aromatization activities were closely related to the density of acid sites and the ratios of medium Lewis acidity and strong Br?nsted acidity to total acidity. Compared with the single HZSM-5 supported catalyst, the single Hβ supported catalyst was found to have much better olefin reduction performance, but the product RON still suffered from a loss of 1.6. Compared to the single-zeolite supported catalysts, the binary-zeolite Hβ/HZSM-5 supported catalysts with the mass ratio of Hβ to HZSM-5 at 6.6 offered much more stable activity and selectivity to arene, which played an important role in preserving gasoline RON.