High suppression of the formation of ethylbenzene in benzene alkylation with methanol over ZSM-5 catalyst modified by platinum

The generation of ethylbenzene is difficult to be avoided in benzene alkylation with methanol over ZSM-5 catalysts to produce toluene and xylene. Moreover, the separation or removal of ethylbenzene from C8 aromatic yet remains as a major challenge. In this study, the effect of Pt addition on the catalytic performance of ZSM-5 for benzene alkylation was investigated. It was found that the presence of a small amount of Pt in ZSM-5 catalyst would largely suppress the formation of ethylbenzene and extend the life-span of the catalyst, which was mainly due to the hydrogenation of ethylene into ethane on Pt particles. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.