Aromatization of C5-rich Light Naphtha Feedstock over Tailored Zeolite Catalysts: Comparison with Model Compounds (n-C5 - n-C7)

CATEGORY: NAPHTHA
Aromatization of C5-rich Light Naphtha Feedstock over Tailored Zeolite Catalysts: Comparison with Model Compounds (n-C5 - n-C7)

Type	Journal Article
Author	Janardhan L. Hodala
Author	Anand B. Halgeri
URL	http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/slct.201600412/abstract
Volume	1
Issue	10
Pages	2515-2521
Publication	ChemistrySelect
Date	July 1, 2016
Abstract	Reports a study of aromatization of C5-rich light naphtha as feedstock obtained from the refinery of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) along with n-hexane over non-noble metal oxide based catalyst. Researchers modified ZnGa/ZSM-5. Zeolite ZSM-5 with zinc and gallium by co-impregnation method. They obtained high aromatic yields over modified ZSM-5 catalysts due to dissociative chemisorption of alkanes resulting in dehydrogenation/ aromatization. They examined the effect of acid sites on aromatization by varying SiO2/Al2O3 ratio (SAR) of ZSM-5 and correlated with the temperature programmed desorption of ammonia (NH3-TPD) studies. Optimized catalyst composition was further used for aromatization of n-pentane, n-heptane and light naphtha from a refinery. The Zn-Ga−H-ZSM-5 catalyst produced aromatics in high yields, especially high quantities of toluene with toluene/benzene ratio (T/B) ∼ 2. From the aromatization studies, it could be concluded that a proper balance of acid sites with dehydrogenation function is required to achieve maximum aromatic yield. Nitrogen was found to be a better carrier gas compared to hydrogen for aromatization of light naphtha.