| Abstract: | Reactions of n-hexenes on 80/100 mesh amorphous silica-alumina have been studied in a plug flow reactor at 405°C, and compared with results previously obtained using HY and H-ZSM-5. The dominant primary reaction is skeletal isomerization while the initial selectivity for cracking is very low compared to that on the zeolite catalysts. The dimerization-cracking reaction, the major cracking process on the zeolites, was not a primary reaction on amorphous silica-alumina. This and the slowness of reactions leading to paraffins and dehydrogenated species is attributed to the small number of strongly acidic sites on the amorphous material. |
