Improving the Hydrothermal Stability of ZSM-5 Zeolites in 1-Octene Aromatization by Sequential Alkali Treatment and Phosphorus Modification

For the aromatization of olefins (in Fischer-Tropsch synthetic oil), especially for the fluidized bed reaction with steam as the fluidized medium, improving the catalytic and hydrothermal stabilities of ZSM-5 catalysts is a research focus because of both fundamental research interests and potential commercial applications. In this work, sequential alkali treatment and phosphorus modification were carried out for ZSM-5 samples. The results obtained from characterization and reaction evaluation show that the introduction of mesopores facilitates the dispersion of phosphorus species into the pores and improves the reaction stability for 1-octene aromatization. After the hydrothermal treatment, the P-0.5A-Z5-ST sample treated with an appropriate concentration of alkali retains the most acid sites and shows the highest aromatic selectivity (22.5%) at TOS = 660 min. Therefore, a moderate distribution of mesopores in a zeolite plays an important role in the diffusions of reactants and products, as well as in the distribution of phosphorus species.

Automated summary

In this study, alkali treatment and phosphorus modification were used to improve the catalytic stability and hydrothermal stability of ZSM-5 catalysts. The introduction of mesopores enhanced the dispersion of phosphorus species and improved the stability of the aromatization reaction. The sample treated with an appropriate concentration of alkali had the highest aromatic selectivity.