Precisely regulating acid density and types to promote the stable two-step conversion of methanol to aromatics via light hydrocarbons

Acidic properties of ZSM-5 zeolites for the aromatization of light hydrocarbons strongly determined the final catalytic selectivity and stability for two-step methanol conversions of aromatics via light hydrocarbons. Herein, the density and types of acid sites of ZSM-5 were precisely adjusted to explore their influences on the final catalytic performance. Different from the indistinctive effect of SiO2/Al2O3 ratios on traditional one-step methanol conversion to aromatics, decreasing acid density by increasing SiO2/Al2O3 ratios from 36 to 70 decelerated coke formation and significantly extended the catalytic lifetime from 46.5 to 190.8 h. Further modification with low Zn loading decreased B/L ratio from 19.0 to 1.7 and established a good catalytic synergy between Zn-Lewis and Brønsted acid sites for aromatization of light hydrocarbons, which increased the aromatics selectivity from 27.5% to 31.4%. The decreased catalytic stability after introducing Zn species was attributed to the coke coverage on acid sites but not the final blockage of pore channels as mentioned in previous studies, which was indicated by the similar coke rate of the deactivated catalyst and their gradually increased surface area with increasing Zn content. This work provides more insights into the regulation of acid properties for aromatization catalyst to boost the conversion of methanol to aromatics.