An investigation of the nature and reactivity of the carbonaceous species deposited on mordenite by reaction with methanol

Abstract

An investigation of the nature of the carbonaceous species deposited upon mordenite by reaction with methanol has been undertaken. The nature of the species has been shown to be a strong function of both temperature and time on stream. Upon reaction at 300 °C a range of alkyl and aromatic species, consistent with the development of an active hydrocarbon pool, are evident and time on stream studies have shown that these are developed within 5 min. Upon reaction at 500 °C, a narrower range of hydrogen deficient aromatic species is evident. Thermal volatilisation analysis (TVA), not previously applied to the study of coked zeolites, is shown to be complementary to the more commonly applied C analysis, 13C MAS NMR and TGA techniques.