Seed-solution-induced Synthesis of FER Zeolite and Its Catalytic Application in the Skeletal Isomerization of n-Butene

A series of Ferrierite(FER)zeolites were prepared via hydrothermal synthesis in the absence of organic templates with the aid of sodium-type FER zeolite(NaFER)or NaFER suspensions(NaFERsus)acquired by NaOH solution treatment as seeds.The differences in the structures and acid sites of the obtained FER zeolite catalysts arising from the choice of seed were investigated,and the catalytic performances of the obtained FER zeolites were evaluated in the skeletal isomerization of n-butene.The results indicate that the samples synthesized using NaFERsus feature more Br?nsted acid sites(BAS)in the 10-membered-ring(10-MR)at the expense of strong acid and Lewis acid sites(LAS),compared with samples derived from NaFER.Therefore,the FER samples synthesized using NaFERsus outperformed the NaFER counterparts as the BAS in 10-MR and LAS were the main active sites,while BAS in 8-MR and LAS were responsible for side reactions,such as polymerization,cracking,and carbon deposition in n-butene isomerization.The optimized FER catalyst was continuously used for 720 h at 350℃ at 0.1 MPa under an n-butene space velocity of 2.0 h^(-1),during which the n-butene conversion remained at>40%,and the isobutylene yield was>37.5%.

The effect of FER zeolite acid sites in methanol-to-dimethyl-ether catalytic dehydration

In this paper, the effect of acidity of zeolites with FER framework was studied in the methanol dehydration to dimethyl ether reaction, by comparing catalysts with different Si/Al ratios(namely 8, 30 and60). The aim of this work was to investigate how the acid sites concentration, strength, distribution and typology(Br?nsted and Lewis) affect methanol conversion, DME selectivity and coke formation. It was found that the aluminium content affects slightly acid sites strength whilst a relevant effect on acid sites concentration and distribution(Br?nsted/Lewis) was observed as 24% of Lewis sites were found on Alrichest samples, whilst less than 10% of Lewis acid sites were observed on FER at higher Si/Al ratio. All the investigated catalyst samples showed a selectivity toward DME always greater than 0.9 and samples with the lowest Si/Al ratio exhibit the best performances in terms of methanol conversion, approaching the theoretical equilibrium value(around 0.85) at temperatures below 200 °C. Turnover-frequency analysis suggests that this result seems to be related not only to the higher amount of acid sites but also that the presence of Lewis acid sites may play a significant role in converting methanol. On the other hand, the presence of Lewis acid sites, combined with a high acidity, promote the formation of by-products(mainly methane) and coke deposition during the reaction. As final evidence, all the investigated catalysts exhibit very high resistance to deactivation by coke deposition, over 60 h continuous test, and a GC–MS analysis of the coke deposited on the catalyst surface reveals tetra-methyl benzene as main component.

Promoting Role of Catalytic Amount of Glycerol in Crystallization of THF-FER Zeolite

The hydrothermal crystallization of THF-FER zeolite was investigated in the reactant system of Na2O-SiO2-Al2O3-H2O with tetrahydrofuran （THF） as the template in the presence of various catalytic amount of glycerol [CH2（OH）CH（OH）CH2（OH）, Glyc] in the temperature range of 413--473 K. Powder X-ray diffraction （XRD） was used to observe the crystallization process, and scanning electron microscope （SEM）, ^13C cross polarization （CP） and ^27Al magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance （MAS NMR）, X-ray fluorescence scattering spectroscopy （XRF）, thermal analysis and nitrogen sorption were used to characterize the zeolite synthesized in the reactant system with Glyc. The catalytic amount of Glyc could promote the crystallization of FER zeolite, to result in lowering the reaction temperature, shortening the period of the zeolite crystallization and effectively restraining cocrystallization of MOR zeolite as an impure phase especially at low reaction temperature, and possess a significant effect on the morphology and the crystal size of TI-IF-FER zeolite.

Synthesis of FER Zeolite Using 4-(Aminomethyl)pyridine as Structure-directing Agent

This paper describes the synthesis of FER zeolite using commercially available 4-(aminomethyl)pyridine as organic structure-directing agent(OSDA). FER zeolites were prepared in mixtures with SiO2/Al2O3 molar ratios in a narrow range and the resultant products possessed a typical flake-shaped morphology. The crystallization of FER zeolite was tracked in order to better understand the formation mechanism and the products obtained at different crystallization time were systematically characterized using multiple techniques. It showed that a majority of Si atoms and nearly all the Al atoms transformed into the solid phase during the hydrothermal synthesis. The rearrangement of inorganic species gave rise to zeolitic 5-membered rings(5-MRs) and 6-membered rings(6-MRs). Consequently, FER zeolite crystals were formed by the consumption of amorphous bulky gel/solid matrix. Tracking the synthesis process of FER can help.