Mesostructured zeolite ZSM-5 directed by polyethylene glycol (PEG) at low temperature for producing high aromatic green gasoline from palm oil
摘要
ZSM-5 has become the primary catalyst for converting palm oil into green gasoline. However, the small intrinsic micropore of ZSM-5 creates a diffusion issue, especially for the bulky molecule of palm oil, which decreases the conversion. Introducing additional mesopores to ZSM-5, forming a hierarchical zeolite, could resolve this issue. This work presents the formation of a hierarchical ZSM-5 assisted by polyethylene glycol (PEG) at low temperatures. The TEM images and N2 adsorption isotherms confirmed the formation of interconnected mesopores in the ZSM-5 framework. We found that the molecular weight of PEG (PEG-400, PEG-4000, and PEG-5800) firmly controlled the textural properties and catalytic performance of palm oil conversion into green gasoline. Among the PEG types, PEG-4000 significantly increased the SBET and Sext to 400 and 198 m2/g, respectively. PEG-4000 also increased the hierarchy factor index by about two times that of commercial ZSM-5 and ZSM-5 prepared without PEG. Despite the lower acidity, the prepared hierarchical ZSM-5 exhibited higher gasoline yields than the commercial one, with a remarkable selectivity toward aromatic gasoline. Accordingly, the prepared hierarchical ZSM-5 improved the quality of the gasoline by increasing the RON values to 110–119, higher than the commercial zeolite (RON: 102).