Methylation of 2-Methylnaphthalene with Methanol over NH4F and Pt Modified HZSM-5 Catalysts

Shape-selective methylation of 2-methylnaphthalene (2-MN) was carried out over NH4F and Pt modified HZSM-5 (SiO2/Al2O3 = 83) catalysts in a fixed-bed down-flow reactor using methanol as methylating agent and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (1,3,5-TMB) as a solvent. Pt promoted HZSM-5 catalysts showed low concentration of coke-like polycondensed aromatics, NH4F modification decreased non-shape-selective acid sites. After Pt and NH4F co-modification, both conversion of 2-MN and selectivity to 2,6-DMN were improved. 6%NH4F/0.5%Pt/HZSM-5 catalyst exhibited 13.8% of 2-MN conversion with 6.2% of 2,6-DMN yield after 7 h time on stream (TOS), and 2,6-/2,7-DMN ratio of 1.7 after 10 h of TOS.