Isomerization of C8 Aromatics over a Pt/Mordenite Catalyst. A Statistical Model

Abstract

A statistical approach was used to analyze the behavior of the isomerization of the C8 aromatics fraction on a commercial Pt/mordenite catalyst. In particular, the effects that the operating variables, temperature, pressure, space velocity, and hydrogen to hydrocarbon ratio had on the yield of p-xylene and loss of xylenes were studied. To this end, a sequential experimental design with a linear model in the first stage and a quadratic model in the second stage was used. The results of the linear model indicated that the temperature, pressure, and space velocity were the most influential factors for the yield of p-xylene, while for the loss of xylenes, pressure and space velocity were 2 times more important than temperature. The results from the quadratic model indicate the existence of an important curvature effect, especially with respect to the space velocity, and therefore the linear model by itself cannot describe adequately the behavior of the reaction system in the whole range of operating conditions.