Coking kinetics and influence of reaction-regeneration on acidity, activity and deactivation of Zn/HZSM-5 catalyst during methanol aromatization

The coking kinetics and reaction-regeneration on Zn/HZSM-5 (Zn/HZ) catalyst in the conversion of methanol to aromatics were investigated. The highest initial benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX) yield of ca. 67.7% was obtained on fresh Zn/HZ catalyst, which showed the worst catalytic stability. The cycle of reaction-regeneration significantly modified the texture and acidity of Zn/HZ catalyst, which in turn affected its catalytic performance and coking behavior in methanol conversion to BTX. The residual carbon located on the surface of Zn/HZ catalyst led to the decrease of acid sites and the change on the acid sites distribution, which played an important roles on its activity and deactivation. It was found that the high B/L ratio and the low total acid sites concentration of the Zn/HZ catalyst favored to the high BTX yield and good catalytic stability in methanol conversion.