Structured catalysts for methanol-to-olefins conversion: a review

Conversion of methanol to light olefins is a promising alternative for the conversion of new feed-stocks such as gas, coal or biomass to ethylene and propylene via the methanol-to-olefins (MTO) process. During the last decade, the use of structured catalysts in this reaction has received increasing attention. The effect of such structured catalysts on the stability and selectivity is discussed in this review. The reaction and coking mechanism show the importance of good mass transfer properties of the catalyst in the MTO reaction. Important aspects such as thickness of the coating, crystal size of the zeolite and architecture of the support on the mass transfer properties of the final catalyst are highlighted. An overview of the results of structured catalysts used in the MTO reaction is presented.