Introduction of table sugar as a soft second template in ZSM-5 nano catalyst and its effect on product distribution and catalyst lifetime in methanol to gasoline conversion

Methanol to gasoline reaction was investigated on two prepared ZSM-5 catalysts [1]. The first one was a conventional catalyst denoted as ZSM-5(C) and the other was a hierarchical catalyst-ZSM-5(S) which was prepared by incorporation of Table sugar in catalyst gel during the synthesis procedure [2]. The catalysts were characterized by FTIR, XRD, FE-SEM, BET, NH3-TPD and TGA analytical techniques. Introduction of Table sugar resulted in pore modification as well as acidity moderating properties in ZSM-5 catalyst [3]. The methanol to gasoline reaction was conducted in a fixed bed reactor with a WHSV of 1.5 h-1. Methanol conversions, gasoline yield and selectivity in production for the synthesized catalysts were determined by gas chromatography method. The sugar modified catalyst converted more methanol than the conventional one and an enhancement in catalyst’s life time was observed. The selectivity to aromatics and durene were reduced compared to the conventional catalyst, so the gasoline quality was also further improved. The coking rate of catalysts were calculated employing TGA method. A reduction in coking rate and an increase in coke capacity of the modified catalyst was observed.