Methanol to clean gasoline over nanostructured CuO–ZnO/HZSM-5 catalyst: Influence of conventional and ultrasound assisted co-impregnation synthesis on catalytic properties and performance

•Successful synthesis of CuO(7%)–ZnO(5%)/HZSM-5 by ultrasonic and impregnation methods.•Small crystal size and uniform dispersion of ultrasound assisted synthesized catalyst.•Obtaining desirable gasoline cut hydrocarbons as major product of the activity test.•13.5% more production of octane group hydrocarbons in comparison to impregnated one.

In current paper, the catalytic conversion of methanol to gasoline range hydrocarbons has been studied over CuO(7%)–ZnO(5%)/HZSM-5(Si/Al = 65) catalysts prepared via conventional co-impregnation and ultrasonic methods. The samples were characterized by XRD, FESEM, BET, EDX, TEM and FTIR techniques. Characterizations proved smaller crystal size, more specific surface area and more uniform dispersion for the ultrasonic-assisted synthesized sample. Also, the performance test was done and ultrasonic-assisted synthesized catalyst showed 25% more selectivity to aromatics and 14% more selectivity to octanes and it has more potential to produce desirable products for gasoline cut.

Graphical abstractNanostructured CuO(7%)–ZnO(5%)/HZSM-5(Si/Al = 65) catalyst synthesized via conventional co-impregnation and ultrasonic-assisted methods to be utilized in methanol to gasoline (MTG) process. Ultrasonic-assisted synthesized sample had smaller particle size and uniform dispersion of active metals and better low-temperature activity. Moreover, the performance test revealed considerable share of products in gasoline cut as a result of acoustic cavitation in preparation step.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (244 K)Download as PowerPoint slide