Ethanol Conversion to Short-Chain Olefins Over ZSM-5 Zeolite Catalysts Enhanced with P, Fe, and Ni

• Published in: Topics in catalysis 2020-08, Vol.63 (5-6), p.414-427
• Main Authors: Gil-Horán, Ricardo H., Chavarría-Hernández, Juan C., Quintana-Owen, Patricia, Gutiérrez-Alejandre, Aída
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alkenes; Aluminum oxide; Catalysis; Catalysts; Catalytic activity; Chains; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Dehydration; Ethanol; Impregnation; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Iron; Nickel; Oligomerization; Original Paper; Paraffins; Pharmacy; Physical Chemistry; Selectivity; Silicon dioxide; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy; Zeolites
• ISSN: 1022-5528; 1572-9028
• DOI: 10.1007/s11244-020-01229-8

The ethanol dehydration and subsequent ethylene oligomerization to short-chain olefins using catalysts based on ZSM-5 zeolite was studied in detail. P, Fe, and Ni were added by incipient wetness impregnation on zeolites with two SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 molar ratios (50 and 80). The catalysts were characterized by N 2 adsorption–desorption, XRD, SEM–EDX, FTIR spectroscopy of adsorbed pyridine, and XPS techniques, while the catalytic activity was evaluated using an isothermal fixed-bed reactor. The impregnation of P, Fe, and Ni significantly improved the formation of the desired C 3+ olefins (olefins having three or more C atoms). Particularly, the zeolite with SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 molar ratio = 50 and impregnated with P, exhibited the highest selectivity (C 3+ olefins > 45 wt% at TOS = 5 h) in comparison with the rest of the evaluated catalysts. On the contrary, catalysts with SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 molar ratio = 80 showed lower selectivity to C 3+ olefins, producing more side products (i.e. paraffins, aromatics and diethyl-ether).