Preparation of pyridine and 3-picoline from acrolein and ammonia with HF/MgZSM-5 catalyst

Abstract

Pyridine and 3-picoline were prepared from acrolein and ammonia using HF/MgZSM-5 as catalyst. The HF/MgZSM-5 catalyst was produced from modification of HZSM-5 by HF and Mg(NO3)2. It was found that the micropore structure of the HZSM-5 carrier would be destroyed when Mg and HF were loaded. This corrosion process could be promoted by employing HF onto MgZSM-5 carrier comparing with HZSM-5 one, because of the damage of MgO to ZSM-5 stability. A micro-mesoporous HZSM-5 zeolite with fewer and weaker acid sites was prepared after HF modification. Under the optimized conditions, a total yield of 68% can be reached, with 36% being 3-picoline and 30% being pyridine.