Enhancement of catalytic and anti-carbon deposition performance of SAPO-34/ZSM-5/quartz films in MTA reaction by Si/Al ratio regulation

In order to further improve the catalytic performance of zeolite catalyst for methanol to aromatics(MTA)technology, the double-tier SAPO-34/ZSM-5/quartz composite zeolite films were successfully synthesized via hydrothermal crystallization. The Si/Al ratio of SAPO-34 film was used as the only variable to study this material. The composite zeolite material with 0.6Si/Al ratio of SAPO-34 has the largest mesoporous specific surface area and the most suitable acid distribution. The catalytic performance for the MTA process showed that 0.6-SAPO-34/ZSM-5/quartz film has as high as 50.3% benzene-toluenexylene selectivity and 670 min lifetime. The MTA reaction is carried out through the path we designed to effectively avoid the hydrocarbon pool circulation of ZSM-5 zeolite, so as to improve the aromatics selectivity and inhibit the occurrence of deep side reactions to a great extent. The coke deposition behavior was monitored by thermogravimetric analysis and gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer, it is found that with the increase of Si/Al ratio, the active intermediates changed from low-substituted methylbenzene to high-substituted methylbenzene, which led to the rapid deactivation of the catalyst. This work provides a possibility to employ the synergy effect of composite zeolite film synthesizing anti-carbon deposition catalyst in MTA reaction.

Understanding Zeolites Catalyzed Methanol-to-Olefins Conversion from Theoretical Calculations

Zeolites catalyzed methanol-to-olefins （MTO） conversion provides an alternative process to produce light olefins such as ethene and propene from nonpetroleum resources. Despite of successful industrialization of the MTO process, its detailed reaction mechanism is not yet well understood. Here we summarize our work on the hydrocarbon pool reaction mechanism based on theoretical calculations. We proposed that the olefins themselves are likely to be the dominating hydrocarbon pool species, and the distribution of cracking precursors and diffusion constraints affect the selectivity. The similarities between aromatic-based and olefin-based cycles are highlighted.

Confinement effects in methanol to olefins catalysed by zeolites： A computational review

Small pore zeolites, containing 8-rings as the largest, are widely employed as catalysts in the process of methanol-to-olefins （MTO）. Reactants and products dif- fuse with constraints through 8-rings and this is one of the reaction bottlenecks related to zeolite micropore topology. Small pore zeolites and silicon-aluminophosphates （SAPOs） containing cavities, where olefins are mainly formed through the hydrocarbon pool （HP） mechanism, are frequently tested for MTO. Shape selectivity of transition states within the side-chain methylation will be reviewed as this is one of the controlling steps of the MTO process, with particular attention to the role of hexam- ethylbenzene （HMB） and heptamethylbenzenium cation （HeptaMB~）, which are the most tipically detected reaction intermediates, common to the paring and side-chain routes within the HP mechanism. The relative stability of these and other species will be reviewed in terms of confinement effects in different cage-based zeolites. The role of the different alkylating agents, methanol, dimethyl ether （DME）, and surface methoxy species （SMS） will also be reviewed from the computational viewpoint.