Synthesis of biodiesel from Jatropha curcas L. seed oil using artificial zeolites loaded with CH3COOK as a heterogeneous catalyst

An environmentally benign process was devel-oped for the transesterification of Jatropha curcas L. seed oil with methanol using artificial zeolites loaded with potassium acetate as a heterogeneous catalyst. After calcination for 5 h at 823 K, the catalyst loaded with 47 wt.% CH3COOK exhibited the highest efficiency and best catalytic activity. The easily prepared cata-lysts were characterized by means of X-ray dif-fraction and IR spectroscopy, as well as Hammett indicator titration. The results revealed a strong dependence of catalytic activity on ba-sicity. The optimum reaction conditions for transesterification of J. curcas oil were also in-vestigated. The methyl ester content in the bio-diesel product exceeded 91% after 4h reaction at reflux temperature in the presence of 2% solid catalyst and no water washing process is needed during workup.

Synthesis of spherical nano-ZSM-5 zeolite with intergranular mesoporous for alkylation of ethylbenzene with ethanol to produce m-diethylbenzene

Catalytic synthesis of m-diethylbenzene(m-DEB)through alkylation of ethylbenzene(EB)may be a promising alternative route in comparison with traditional rectification of mixed DEB,for which the top priority is to develop efficient and stable heterogeneous catalysts.Here,the spherical nano-ZSM-5 zeolite with abundant intergranular mesoporous is synthesized by the seed-mediated growth method for alkylation of EB with ethanol to produce m-DEB.The results show that the spherical nano-ZSM-5 zeolite exhibits better stability and higher alkylation activity at a lower temperature than those of commercial micropore ZSM-5.And then,the spherical nano-ZSM-5 is further modified by La_(2)O_(3) through acid treatment followed by immersion method.The acid treatment causes nano-ZSM-5 to exhibit the increased pore size but decreased the acid sites,and subsequent La_(2)O_(3) loading reintroduces the weak acid sites.As a result,the HNO_(3)-La_(2)O_(3)-modified catalyst exhibits a slight increase in EB conversion and DEB yield in comparison with unmodified one,and meanwhile,it still maintains high m-DEB selectivity.The catalyst after acid treatment achieves higher catalytic stability besides maintaining the high alkylation activity of EB with ethanol.The present study on the spherical nano-HZSM-5 zeolite and its modification catalyst with excellent alkylation ability provides new insights into the production of mDEB.

Development and Catalytic Cracking Performance of Ultrastable Y Zeolite Rich in Secondary Pores

A novel ultra-stable zeolite, NSZ, rich in secondary pores was developed through the combination of gas-phase andmild hydrothermal methods. This zeolite was successfully tested in an industrial setting for the first time in the world. The porestructure characteristics of the NSZ zeolite prepared for industrial use were analyzed and characterized using BET. The resultsindicate a significant increase in the secondary pore volume of NSZ zeolite compared to the existing ultra-stable zeolite HSZ-5, which is produced through a conventional gas-phase method. The average secondary pore volume to total pore volume ratioin NSZ zeolite was found to be 58.96% higher. The catalytic cracking performance of NSZ zeolite was evaluated. The resultsshowed that the NSC-LTA catalyst, with NSZ as the active component, outperformed the HSC-LTA catalyst with HSZ-5 zeolitein terms of obtaining more high-value products (gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas) during the hydrogenated light cycle oilprocessing. Additionally, the NSC-LTA catalyst showed a significant improvement in coke selectivity.

Ni/ZSM-5 Catalysts for Light Olefin Oligomerization:Effects of Supports and Ni Sites on Activity and Selectivity

A series of Ni/ZSM-5 containing a small amount of Ni was prepared by an ion exchanged method.The impact of the n(SiO_(2))/n(Al_(2)O_(3))ratio on the catalytic activity was studied using the samples 0.09Ni/ZSM-5(60)and 0.09Ni/ZSM-5(130).To determine the interaction between the Ni species and acid sites on the surface of the catalyst,the catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption,X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and UV-vis spectroscopy.The performance of the catalysts for the catalytic oligomerization of 1-hexene was investigated in detail.The nickel species were found to be uniformly distributed in all the catalysts.It was discovered that the oligomerization activity of the catalyst can be improved using Ni species;however,the contribution of Brønsted acids in oligomerization reactions is greater than that of Ni sites and Lewis acids.

Zeolites:One Important Catalyst Carrier for Abiogenic Methane Formation

Recently,methane of possible abiogenic origin has been reported from many localities within the Earth’s crust.However,little is known about the mechanisms of abiogenic methane formation during such processes.The Fischer-Tropsch reaction as a well known process for converting CO2 to hydrocarbon gas by reaction with H2 may take place on a metallic iron or iron oxide catalyst and also may take place on

Catalyst activity comparison of alcohols over zeolites

Alcohol transformation to transportation fuel-range hydrocarbon over HZSM-5 （SIO2/A1203 = 30） catalyst was studied at 360 C and 300 psig. Product distributions and catalyst life were compared between methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol and 1-butanol as a feed. The catalyst life for 1-propanol and l-butanol was more than double compared with that for methanol and ethanol. For all the alcohols studied, the product distributions （classified to paraffin, olefin, naphthene, aromatic and naphthalene compounds） varied with time on stream （TOS）. At 24 h TOS, liquid product from 1-propanol and 1-butanol transformation primarily contains higher olefin compounds. The alcohol transformation process to higher hydrocarbon involves a complex set of reaction pathways such as dehydration, oligomerization, dehydrocyclization and hydrogenation. Compared with ethylene generated from methanol and ethanol, oligomerization of propylene and butylene has a lower activation energy and can readily take place on weaker acidic sites. On the other hand, dehydrocyclization of the oligomerized products of propylene and butylene to form the cyclic compounds requires the sites with stronger acid strength. Combination of the above mentioned reasons are the primary reasons for olefin rich product generated in the later stage of the time on stream and for the extended catalyst life time for 1-propanol and 1-butanol compared with methanol and ethanol conversion over HZSM-5.

Study on Deactivation and Cracking Performance of Catalysts Containing Y and MFI Zeolites

This article investigated the deactivation caused by hydrothermal treatment and metal contamination of two cracking catalysts containing the Y and ZRP- 1 zeolites aimed at maximization of light olefin yield.Test results had shown that the hydrothermal stability and resistance to metal contamination of the ZRP-1zeolite were apparently better than those of the Y zeolite. Hydrothermal treatment and metal contamination had not only changed the catalytic cracking performance of respective zeolites, but at the same time had also modified to a definite degree of the relative proportions of effective components in these two zeolites and affected the synergistic effects between them, resulting in a relative enhancement of secondary cracking ability of the catalyst and increased olefin selectivity in the FCC products. In the course of application of catalyst for maximization of light olefins yield appropriate adjustment of the relative proportion of two active components can help to alleviate the products distribution and selectivity changes caused by deactivationof FCC catalysts.

Nanosized and hierarchical zeolites: A short review

Zeolites are crystalline aluminosilicates with three‐dimensional microporous structures. They have been used as ion‐exchangers, catalysts, and adsorbents in various fields such as oil refining, petro‐chemistry, agriculture, and water and wastewater treatment. Their wide use is because of their many beneficial properties, such as framework and compositional flexibilities, physical and hydro‐thermal stabilities, non‐toxicity, high surface areas, exchangeable cations, and good cost‐benefit ratios. Although many zeolite applications depend on their microporous structures, this can cause diffusional constraints for bulky reactant and product molecules. There have been many efforts to overcome the intrinsic limitations of conventional zeolites by preparing nanosized and hierarchi‐cally structured zeolites. As a result of these efforts, several strategies have been established and the use of new zeolitic materials in various catalytic and adsorptive reactions has been investigated. Longer lifetimes, high catalytic performances, and postponed coking and catalyst deactivation can be achieved using hierarchical and nanosized zeolites. The aim of this review is to provide an over‐view of the enhanced properties of hierarchical and nanosized zeolites, and recent development methods for their synthesis. The advantages and disadvantages of each route are discussed, and the catalytic applications of nanozeolites and zeolites with secondary porosity, and a comparison with conventional zeolites, are briefly presented.

Hydroisomerization performance of platinum supported on ZSM-22/ZSM-23 intergrowth zeolite catalyst

Hydroisomerization catalysts Pt/ZSM-22, Pt/ZSM-23, and Pt/ZSM-22/ZSM-23 were prepared by supporting Pt on ZSM-22, ZSM-23, and intergrowth zeolite ZSM-22/ZSM-23, respectively. The typical physicochemical properties of these catalysts were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction （XRD）, N2 absorption-desorption, Pyridine-Fourier Transform Infrared （Py-FTIR）, Transmission Electron Microscopy （TEM）, X-Ray Fluorescence （XRF）, Scanning Electron Microscopy （SEM） and NH3- Temperature Programmed Desorption （NH3-TPD）, and the performance of these catalysts in n-dodecane hydroisomerization was evaluated in a continuous down-flow fixed bed with a stainless steel tubular reactor. The characterization results indicated that the intergrowth zeolite ZSM-22/ZSM-23 possessed the dual structure of ZSM-22 and ZSM-23, and the catalyst Pt/ZSM-22/ZSM-23 had similar pores and weak acidity to Pt/ZSM-22 and Pt/ZSM-23 catalysts. Moreover, Pt/ZSM-22/ZSM-23 catalyst showed a high selectivity in hydroisomerization of long chain n-alkanes to mono-branched isomers. The evaluation results for n-dodecane hydroisomerization indicated that the activity of Pt/ZSM-22/ZSM-23 was the lowest, while the hydroisomerization selectivity was the highest among the three catalysts. The maximum yield of i-dodecane product was 68.3% over Pt/ZSM-22/ZSM-23 at 320 ℃.

In-situ emb e dding zeolitic imidazolate framework derived Co–N–C bifunctional catalysts in carbon nanotube networks for flexible Zn–air batteries

Recently, the development of high-performance bifunctional oxygen catalysts integrated with flexible conductive scaffolds f or rechargeable metal-air batteries has attracted considerable interest, driving by fastgrowing wearable electronics. Herein, we report a flexible bifunctional oxygen catalyst thin film consisting of Co–N–C bifunctional catalysts embedding in carbon nanotube(CNT) networks. The catalyst is readily prepared by pyrolysis of cobalt-based zeolitic imidazolate frameworks(ZIF-67) that are in-situ synthesized in CNT networks. Such catalyst film demonstrates very high catalytic activities for oxygen reduction(onset potential: 0.91 V, and half-wave potential: 0.87 V vs. RHE) and oxygen evolution(10 m Acm^-2 at 1.58 V) reactions, high methanol tolerance property, and long-term stability(97% current retention). Moreover, our integrated catalyst film shows very good structure flexibility and robustness. Based on the obtained film air electrodes, flexible Zn–air batteries demonstrate low charging and discharging overpotentials(0.82 V at 1 m A cm^-1) and excellent structure stability in the bending tests. These results indicate that presently reported catalyst films are potential air electrodes for flexible metal–air batteries.

Effects of Calcination Temperature on the Acidity and Catalytic Performances of HZSM-5 Zeolite Catalysts for the Catalytic Cracking of n-Butane

The acidic modulations of a series of HZSM-5 catalysts were successfully made by calcination at different treatment temperatures, i.e. 500, 600, 650, 700 and 800 ℃, respectively. The results indicated that the total acid amounts, their density and the amount of B-type acid of HZSM-5 catalysts rapidly decreased, while the amounts of L-type acid had almost no change and thus the ratio of L/B was obviously enhanced with the increase of calcination temperature （excluding 800 ℃）. The catalytic performances of modified HZSM-5 catalysts for the cracking of n-butane were also investigated. The main properties of these catalysts were characterized by means of XRD, N2 adsorption at low temperature, NH3-TPD, FTIR of pyridine adsorption and BET surface area measurements. The results showed that HZSM-5 zeolite pretreated at 800 ℃ had very low catalytic activity for n-butane cracking. In the calcination temperature range of 500-700 ℃, the total selectivity to olefins, propylene and butene were increased with the increase of calcination temperature, while, the selectivity for arene decreased with the calcination temperature. The HZSM-5 zeolite calcined at 700 ℃ produced light olefins with high yield, at the reaction temperature of 650 ℃ the yields of total olefins and ethylene were 52.8% and 29.4%, respectively. Besides, the more important role is that high calcination temperature treatment improved the duration stability of HZSM-5 zeolites. The effect of calcination temperature on the physico-chemical properties and catalytic performance of HZSM-5 for cracking of n-butane was explored. It was found that the calcination temperature had large effects on the surface area, crystallinity and acid properties of HZSM-5 catalyst, which further affected the catalytic performance for n-butane cracking.

Methane combustion over palladium catalyst within the confined space of MFI zeolite

Isolated cationic Pd species encapsulated in MFI zeolite,i.e.,Pd@MFI,have been successfully prepared via in situ hydrothermal route followed by oxidative treatment.The as-prepared Pd@MFI samples are investigated as promising catalysts in the reaction of methane combustion.Typically,Pd@H-ZSM-5 shows remarkable activity in methane catalytic combustion with a low apparent activation energy value of 70.7 kj/mol as well as good catalytic stability even in excess water vapor.Detailed characterization results demonstrate the strong interaction between Pd sites and zeolite framework in Pd@ZSM-5 and the efficient stabilization of isolated Pd sites by zeolite thereof.Spectroscopy analyses reveal that the presence of BrΦnsted acid sites is beneficial to methane adsorption and its subsequent activation on adjacent Pd sites,constructing cooperation between Bronsted acid sites and Pd sites within the confined space of MFI zeolite toward high-efficiency methane catalytic combustion.The reaction mechanism of methane combustion catalyzed by Pd@H-ZSM-5 model catalyst is finally discussed.

Solvent-free crystallization of ZSM-5 zeolite on SiC foam as a monolith catalyst for biofuel upgrading

Conventional synthesis of monolith-supported zeolite catalysts is based on a hydrothermal strategy.Here,we report a solvent-free crystallization process to coat ZSM-5 zeolite crystals on a monolithic SiC foam with a honeycomb structure(ZSM-5/SiC).Characterizations of the ZSM-5/SiC by scanning electron microscopy,N2 sorption,and X-ray diffraction indicate that the zeolite sheath has been ideally coated on the surface of the SiC foam with high purity and crystallinity.Fixing Pd nanoparticles within the ZSM-5 zeolite crystals delivers a bifunctional Pd@ZSM-5/SiC catalyst,which exhibits high activity and selectivity toward diesel range paraffins in the hydrodeoxygenation of methyl oleate,a model molecule for biofuel.In comparison to the powder Pd@ZSM-5,the Pd@ZSM-5/SiC monolith catalyst shows more efficiency,which is attributed to the fast mass transfer and high heat conductivity on the honeycomb SiC structure.The durability test indicates that the Pd@ZSM-5/SiC catalyst is stable under the reaction and high-temperature regeneration conditions.

Catalytic performance of Cu-and Zr-modified beta zeolite catalysts in the methylation of 2-methylnaphthalene

2,6-Dimethylnaphthalene(2,6-DMN) is a commercially important chemical for the production of polyethylenenaphthalate and polybutylene naphthalate. However, its complex synthesis procedure and high production cost significantly reduce the use of 2,6-DMN. In this study, the synthesis of 2,6-DMN was investigated with methylation of 2-methylnaphthalene(2-MN) over metal-loaded beta zeolite catalysts including beta zeolite, Cu-impregnated beta zeolite and Zr-impregnated beta zeolite. The experiments were performed in a fixed-bed reactor at atmospheric pressure under a nitrogen atmosphere. The reactor was operated at a temperature range of 400–500 °C and varying weight hourly space velocity between 1 and 3 h^(-1).The results demonstrated that 2,6-DMN can be synthesized by methylation of 2-MN over beta type zeolite catalysts.Besides 2,6-DMN, the product stream also contained other DMN isomers such as 2,7-DMN, 1,3-DMN, 1,2-DMN and 2,3-DMN. The activity and selectivity of beta zeolite catalyst were remarkably enhanced by Zr impregnation, whereas Cu modification of beta zeolite catalyst had an insignificant effect on its selectivity. The highest conversion of 2-MN reached81%, the highest ratio of 2,6-DMN/2,7-DMN reached 2.6 and the highest selectivity of 2,6-DMN was found to be 20% by using Zr-modified beta zeolite catalyst.

A facile solvent-free synthesis strategy for Co-imbedded zeolite-based Fischer-Tropsch catalysts for direct gasoline production

A series of Co-imbedded zeolite-based catalysts were synthesized following a facile solvent-free grinding route.The catalytic performance for direct syngas conversion to gasoline range hydrocarbons was compared with their counterpart Co-impregnated zeolite-based catalysts.Successful transformation of solid raw materials to targeted zeolite was confirmed by XRD,SEM,STEM,and N2 physisorption analysis.An in-depth study of acidic strength and acidic site distribution was conducted by NH3-TPD and Py-IR spectroscopy.Acidic strength showed a pivotal role in defining product range.Co@S1,with the weakest acidic strength of silicalite-1 among three types of zeolites,evaded over-cracking of product and exhibited the highest gasoline and isoparaffin selectivity(≈70%and 30.7%,respectively).Moreover,the solvent-free raw material grinding route for zeolite synthesis accompanies several advantages like the elimination of production of wastewater,high product yield within confined crystallization space,and elimination of safety concerns regarding high pressure due to the absence of the solvent.Facileness and easiness of the solvent-free synthesis route together with promising catalytic performance strongly support its application on the industrial scale.

Synthesis of La-Modified Ultra Stable Zeolite L and Its Application to Catalytic Cracking Catalyst

A new type of zeolite La-USL （ultra stable zeolite L （zeolite USL） modified by La）, which has superior activity, stability and selectivity in catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons and thus can be used as an active catalyst component, is reported in this paper. The zeolite L with relative crystallinity of above 90% was synthesized by the hydrothermal crystallization method under optimum conditions and characterized by means of XRD, NH3-TPD and isotherm adsorption techniques. The in-situ synthesized zeolite L with a SiO2/Al2O3 mole ratio of 5-6 was modified by cation ion exchange, hydrothermal dealumination and chemical modifications with La in order to prepare La-containing USL with a higher framework SiO2/Al2O3 mole ratio of 15-30. The modified zeolite La-USL was used as an active additive component of fluid catalytic cracking （FCC） catalyst and the resulting catalysts were evaluated by microactivity test （MAT） and fixed-fluidized bed （FFB） experiments using heavy oil as feedstock. The influence of La content in La- USL on cracking product distribution, gasoline group composition and research octane number （RON） was investigated. The results showed that when La content in La-USL was 0.8 wt%, the addition of the corresponding La-USL could result in a FCC catalyst that produced significant improvement in product distribution and gasoline quality.

Direct hydrothermal synthesis of Mo-containing MFI zeolites using Mo-EDTA complex and their catalytic application in cyclohexene epoxidation

A series of Mo-containing MFI zeolites with different Mo loadings(Mo-MFI-n,n represent the initial Si/Mo molar ratio)was hydrothermally synthesized by using tetrapropylammonium hydroxide as the template and Mo-EDTA complex as the Mo source.Various characterization results demonstrated that the use of the Mo-EDTA complex is beneficial for the incorporation of more Mo species into the MFI-type zeolites.The special complexing capability of EDTA^(2–)plays a critical role in adjusting the release rate of the Mo species to combine with the Si tetrahedron species during the zeolite growth process,thus leading to a uniform distribution of Mo in the MFI framework.In addition,a small portion of extra-framework Mo clusters may be distributed inside the channels or near the pore window of the zeolites.The catalytic properties of these Mo-containing MFI zeolites were evaluated for the epoxidation of cyclohexene with H_(2)O_(2)as the oxidant.The composition-optimized catalyst,Mo-MFI-50,efficiently converted cyclohexene to the corresponding epoxide with a relatively high conversion(93%)and epoxide selectivity(82%)at 75℃after 9 h of reaction.Moreover,the resultant Mo-containing MFI catalyst exhibited excellent structural stability and recoverability and was easily recycled by simple filtration without the need for calcination treatment.

Direct amination of isobutylene over zeolite catalysts with various topologies and acidities

The atomically economic and green chemical reaction of direct amination of isobutylene to tertbutylamine, particularly under the relative mild reaction conditions available for future industrial use,was carried out over zeolite catalysts possessing different topological structures, from one dimensional to three dimensional pore system, and from small 8-member ring pore（MRP） to medium 10 MRP and further to large 12 MRP zeolites, to disclose the relationship between the zeolite properties/topologies and their amination performance systematically under the mild reaction conditions. It was discovered that the pore structure and the acidities of zeolite catalysts played crucial roles in the isobutylene amination process, and suitable pore diameter（larger than 0.5 nm or with large side pockets/cups in the outside surface） and a certain number of mid-strong acid sites are indispensable to catalyze the amination reaction,while too strong acid strength was not conducive to the process of isobutylene amination. Among them,zeolites with topologies of BEA, MFI, MEL, MWW and EUO exhibited good amination performance, with which the isobutylene conversion was higher than 12.61%（>46.42% of the equilibrium conversion） under the studied mild reaction conditions. Due to the good amination performance and the large adjustable Si/Al;ratio range, ZSM-5 was selected to further study the effect of acidity on the amination performance systematically under the mild reaction conditions, and the activity-acidity relationship in the amination process was disclosed: the amination activity（isobutylene conversion） had a linear correlation with the amount of mid-strong B acidity under the studied conditions over ZSM-5 catalyst, which can provide guidance for further developing high-efficient amination catalyst under mild reaction conditions available for future industrial use.

Catalytic Acylation of Anisole over Some Zeolites

Methoxyacetophenone(4 MAP) was synthesized by the acylation of anisole with acetic anhydride in the presence of HY zeolite. The addition of an appropriate amount of some solvent such as dichloromethane, chloroform, carbon disulfide or chlorobenzene to the reaction system can improve the yield of the acylated product to a certain extent. HY zeolite used can be recovered, and reused after being regenerated, obtaining almost the same yield of 4 MAP as the fresh zeolite.

Redistributing Cu species in Cu-SSZ-13 zeolite as NH3-SCR catalyst via a simple ion-exchange

The nature and distribution of Cu species in Cu-SSZ-13 play a vital role in selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH3(NH3-SCR),but existing methods for adjusting the Cu distribution are complex and difficult to control.Herein,we report a simple and effective ion-exchange approach to regulate the Cu distribution in the one-pot synthesized Cu-SSZ-13 that possesses sufficient initial Cu species and thus provides a“natural environment”for adjusting Cu distribution precisely.By using this proposed strategy,a series of Cu-SSZ-13x zeolites with different Cu contents and distributions were obtained.It is shown that the dealumination of the as-synthesized Cu-SSZ-13 during the ion-exchange generates abundant vacant sites in the double six-membered-rings of the SSZ-13 zeolite for relocating Cu2+species and thus allows the redistribution of the Cu species.The catalytic results showed that the ion-exchanged Cu-SSZ-13 zeolites exhibit quite different catalytic performance in NH3-SCR reaction but superior to the parent counterpart.The structure–activity relationship analysis indicates that the redistribution of Cu species rather than other factors(e.g.,crystallinity,chemical composition,and porous structure)is responsible for the improved NH3-SCR performance and SO_(2) and H_(2)O resistance.Our work offers an effective method to precisely adjust the Cu distribution in preparing the industrial SCR catalysts.