SÍNTESIS DE ZEOLITA ZSM-5 UTILIZANDO DIATOMITA COMO PRECURSOR; SU APLICACIÓN EN EL PROCESO DE METANOL A HIDROCARBUROS (MTH)

Zeolite H-ZSM-5 is widely applied in the petrochemical industry, such as the synthetic process of methanol to hydrocarbons (methanol to hydrocarbons MTH). ZSM-5 zeolite is currently obtained through reagents and expensive processes, being available only a few cheaper alternative routes. In the present investigation, zeolite HZSM-5 was obtained from natural diatomite, then characterized, and finally tested in the synthetic MTH process. The natural diatomite was treated with sulfuric acid to perform hydrothermal synthesis with tetrapropyl ammonium hydroxide (TPA-OH). As a result, the H-ZSM-5 zeolite obtained had a Si / Al molar ratio of 23, it exhibited high thermal stability and showed Lowry-Brönsted and Lewis acid sites. The application of this zeolite in the MTH reaction showed a methanol conversion of 88%. The products were: dimethyl ether (DME) in 40%, olefins (mostly ethylene and propylene) in 40% and others in 20%. The reaction conditions were: 300 ° C, 1.2Lmetanol/gcath at atmospheric pressure (0.65 bar). The selectivity of the products can be modified in such a way that DME can be Received 10 15 2019 Accepted 12 25 2019 Published 12 3