HIGHLY ACTIVE W-H2SO4/HZSM-5 CATALYST FOR DIRECT CONVERSION OF METHANE INTO AROMATIC

Kusmiyati Kusmiyati (Department of Chemical Engineering, Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta 61 Jl. Raya Pabelan, Surakarta, Indonesia, Telp/Fax: [phone])
Nor Aishah Saidina Amin (Faculty of Chemical and Natural Resources Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia)
W.A. Siswanto (Department of Chemical Engineering, Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta 61 Jl. Raya Pabelan, Surakarta, Indonesia, Telp/Fax: [phone])

Reaktor
Volume 11, Nomor 2, Desember 2007

Dehydroaromatization of methane (DHAM) under non oxidative condition was studied over tungsten loaded HZSM-5 catalysts to produce aromatic hydrocarbons. The catalysts were prepared by impregnation method using different conditions: in neutral and acidified solution. The activity of W/HZSM-5 prepared by neutral solution and W-H2SO4/HZSM-5 prepared in acidified condition were compared. The results showed that the optimum activity of W-H2SO4/HZSM-5 catalyst exceeded that of W/HZSM-5 catalyst. The effect of Si/Al ratio of W- H2SO4/HZSM-5 catalyst was also studied. The W- H2SO4/HZSM-5 catalyst with Si/Al ratio = 30 was found to be the most promising for the DHAM reaction. The remarkable activity of the catalyst is attributed to the presence of dual effects: suitable content of octahedral polymeric and tetrahedral monomeric tungstate species accompanied by proper amount and strength of acid sites in the catalyst.