Abstract
Mordenite zeolite with Si/Al = 18 was successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal method. This zeolite was modified by partially dealuminated in HNO3 at 70 °C. Our analysis showed that the surface area of modified mordenite was increased more than that of the mordenite zeolite. Acid leaching removes impurities and aluminium from the zeolite network, improving Si/Al ratio of the framework and increasing the external surface area of the zeolite.The catalytic performances of these synthesized catalysts were investigated for meta-xylene isomerization reaction in a fixed bed reactor. The performances were then benchmarked with the performance of SAPO-11, a commercially available catalyst.The results showed that p-xylene/o-xylene ratio over the catalysts was found to be in the order: dealuminated mordenite > mordenite > SAPO-11, however dealuminated mordenite and SAPO-11 gave higher m-xylene conversion than that of the mordenite. KEY WORDS: Dealuminated mordenite, Catalyst, m-Xylene isomerization, SAPO-11 Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2017, 31(2), 281-289. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v31i2.9
Highlights
The C8 aromatic fraction in a refinery consists mainly of four isomers, o-xylene, m-xylene, pxylene and ethylbenzene [1]
Indications of structural changes are evidenced from the surface area and porosity, where both the surface area and pore volume of the parent mordenite were increased after acid leaching
In order to investigate the application of the prepared zeolite in m-xylene isomerization reaction, the synthesized mordenite sample and dealuminated mordenite have been tested in a fixed bed catalytic setup and compared the results with a commercial SAPO-11 catalyst (Si/Al = 20) provided by Zeolite International
Summary
The C8 aromatic fraction in a refinery consists mainly of four isomers, o-xylene, m-xylene, pxylene and ethylbenzene [1]. We prepared the mordenite and modified it by leaching with nitric acid, studied some properties of framework such as Si/Al ratio, pore volume and surface area. At final, investigated the catalytic performance of synthesized mordenite and dealuminated mordenite in m-xylene isomerization and compared to commercial SAPO-11.
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