Study on optimum base-treatment of mordenite for catalytic alkylbenzene transalkylation

• Improving catalytic stability of mordenite by base-treatment by means of mesopore formation.
• Manipulating silica dissolution rate of mordenite by different base-treating protocols affects degree of stabilization and pore structure.
• Single-cycle base-treatment generated constant mesopore size.
• Multi-cycle base-treatment generated large size and interconnected mesopore for better catalytic activity and stability.

The effect of base-treatment by single-cycle or multiple-cycle protocol on the textural and catalytic properties of mordenite was studied. According to BET (Brunauer, Emmett and Teller) isotherm and temperature programmed desorption of hexane isomers, mordenite after single-cycle base-treatment generated disordered mesopores in the size of 8 nm regardless of base-treating time, and multiple-cycle treatment generated 8–14 nm mesopores interconnected with silica-blocked 12-MR micropore. The latter treatment was more effective for enhancing both of the catalytic activity and stability of mordenite than the former. Study on optimum base-treatment condition by varying cycle number and base-treating time in each cycle was conducted. The improved catalytic performance is attributed to the mesopore formation with enhanced diffusivity.

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