Hydrocarbon Formation From Methanol Using WO3/Al2O3 and Zeolite ZSM-5 Catalyst: A Mechanistic Study

Abstract A mechanistic study of initial C-C bond formation in the methanol conversion reaction is reported. Reaction of methanol with added hydrogen using WO 3 /A1 2 O 3 and H-ZSM-5 catalysts does not significantly alter the product distribution from that of normal methanol conversion. This is considered to be clear evidence against the involvement of a gas phase methylene intermediate. In addition the behaviour of the methoxymethyl radical in the gas phase has been studied and the results demonstrate that this species is also not involved as an intermediate in initial C-C bond formation.