Isomerization of n-Pentane Catalyzed by Acidic Chloroaluminate Ionic Liquids

Abstract

Isomerization oil becomes an important motor gasoline blending component due to increased statutory reduction of aromatics and olefins (high octane number components) contents in motor gasoline. The ionic liquid Et3NHCl−AlCl3 (mole fraction of AlCl3 is 0.67) shows good catalytic performance for the isomerization of n-pentane. The conversion of n-pentane increases with the enhancement of reaction temperature, reaction time, and catalyst/oil volume ratio (C/O ratio), while the yield of isomerization oil and the selectivity of isoparaffins decrease. The optimal reaction temperature, reaction time, and C/O ratio are 30 °C, 3 h, and 1:1, respectively. Under the optimal reaction conditions, the conversion of n-pentane, the yield of isomerization oil, and the selectivity of isoparaffins are 44.61 wt %, 96.07 wt %, and 90.52%, respectively. High conversion of n-pentane favors the octane number improvement of isomerization oil without the circulation of n-pentane, while low conversion of n-pentane is preferential with the circulation of n-pentane.