Kinetic modelling of methanol transformation into p-xylene on a 3Zn-3Si/ZSM-5 catalyst

Abstract

In this work, the study of the kinetics of the transformation of methanol to aromatics was conducted over a 3Zn-3Si/ZSM-5 catalyst for the high selectivity of p-xylene. In the kinetic model the products were divided into four lumps, i.e., methanol and dimethyl ether, alkanes and alkenes, aromatics (except p-xylene), and p-xylene. The kinetics were studied at temperatures of 623.15–748.15 K. The kinetic model and its parameters were calculated by the Runge–Kutta method and the optimisation method of the genetic algorithm. Corresponding reaction rate constant values, k (Table 2) and equations of r for kinetic reactions (eqn (4)–(9)) were obtained. The statistical analysis was performed using the ρ² and F-test, and the statistical analysis showed that the established model was credible. This work provides theoretical support for the subsequent reactor simulation and design.