Soliman H. Al-Khowaiter

Recent Advances and Future Aspects in the Selective Isomerization of High n‐Alkanes

This article provides an overview of the advances that have been marked during the last decades in the field of hydroconversion of high n‐alkanes (C7 +) with particular stress on the promising ways to meet the requirements for improved quality of motor fuels and oils. Particular attention is given to a catalyst formulation for selective conversion of high n‐alkanes to branched hydrocarbons. The challenge for successfully solving this problem is to find an effective catalyst favoring the isomerization of n‐alkanes without too much cracking. The regulation of active sites and adsorption properties, as well as the topology of support surfaces, allows a more predictive design of novel catalysts for selective conversion of high n‐alkanes into their branched isomers.

On the link between intrinsic catalytic reactions kinetics and the development of catalytic processes: Catalytic dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene

A procedure linking kinetic modeling of catalytic reactions to reactor modeling for different configurations is developed and applied to the catalytic dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene. The procedure is applied to four configurations, namely fixed bed with/without hydrogen selective membranes and bubbling fluidized beds with/without selective membranes. The kinetic data for the industrial catalyst are extracted from industrial fixed bed data using a rigorous heterogeneous model. The kinetic data for the three in-house prepared catalysts are obtained from the laboratory scale experiments using pseudo-homogeneous models.

Hydroconversion of C5–C8 alkanes over Zr-containing supported catalysts prepared by metal vapor method

Abstract Zr-containing supported catalysts (Zr/ZSM-5, Zr-Re/ZSM-5 and Zr-Ni/ZSM-5) were prepared by metal vapor method (MVM). The isomerization and cracking activity and selectivity of prepared catalysts were investigated in hydroconversion of n -C 5 –C 8 alkanes. Results have shown that activity and selectivity of bimetallic catalysts toward hydroconversion of tested hydrocarbons were much higher than those over monometallic Zr/ZSM-5. The most significant difference was observed in the presence of Zr-Ni/ZSM-5 catalyst: n -pentane and n -hexane underwent isomerization while n -heptane was converted virtually to iso -butane and propane under mild conditions. This catalyst demonstrated high internal CC bond cleavage selectivity also in hydroconversion of n -octane.

RECENT ADVANCES AND FUTURE ASPECTS IN THE LOW-TEMPERATURE CONVERSION OF SATURATED HYDROCARBONS

A brief review on the advances and future aspects in the low-temperature activation of carbon–hydrogen and carbon–carbon bonds in hydrocarbons is presented. Particular attention is given to a catalyst formulation for low-temperature conversion of hydrocarbons. An efficient catalyst design method for low-temperature activation of saturated hydrocarbons has been worked out using metal evaporation techniques. The characteristic property of such catalysts is the presence of metal particles on the surface in an atomically dispersed state. Some of the prepared catalysts cause complete hydrocracking of alkanes and cycloalkanes at 423–463K.

Transalkylation and isomerization of ortho-diethylbenzene with benzene using trifluoromethanesulphonic acid catalyst: kinetic analysis

The kinetics of transalkylation and isomerization of o-diethylbenzene (o-DEB) in the presence of benzene (B) using trifluoromethanesulphonic acid as a catalyst has been studied. On the basis of the product distribution obtained, transalkylation, disproportionation, and isomerization reactions have been considered. The main product of the reaction was ethylbenzene. These reactions are conducted in a closed liquid batch reactor with continuous stirring under dry nitrogen and atmospheric pressure over the temperature range of 288–308 K. Power law type model have been tested for the main transalkylation and disproportionation reactions, while the isomerization reactions followed a first-order mechanisms. Increasing the molar ratio of B to o-DEB resulted in decreasing the yield of ethylbenzene. The apparent activation energy of the transalkylation reaction was found to be 50 kJ/mole, while that of disproportionation reaction was 29 kJ/mole. The reproducibility of the experimental product distribution occurred with an average relative error of 5%.

Research for industry

Petrochemical production accounts for a 6% of global energy consumption. Although this seems like a small percentage, in absolute numbers it is close to 30 EJ, i.e. 3 9 10 J. Consequently, industrial application of petrochemical research has a meaningful impact on the global economy and on the environment. Although the justification for petrochemical research in both industry and academia is clear, one may rightfully ask: why do we need yet another journal? The answer lies in the name: Applied Petrochemical Research. There are journals dealing with the many disciplines that support petrochemical research, such as catalysis, conversion chemistry, chemical engineering and material science. There are also journals dealing with the products from petrochemical research, such as polymers, lubricants and pharmaceuticals. However, applied petrochemical research requires integration across disciplines and products, even though studies may focus on only specific aspects. Applied studies do not have the same resolution of detail as discipline specific studies, but the relevance of applied studies is immediately apparent to practitioners that want to translate the research into actual processes and products. By its nature, Applied Petrochemical Research is home to multiand inter-disciplinary research dealing with petrochemicals, as well as single discipline studies that are of a more applied nature.

06-P-21 - Characterization of MCM-41 aged for different periods

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the characterization of MCM-41aged for different periods. A series of MCM-41 samples have been synthesized with varying aging times and characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N 2 -adsorption, Laser Raman, and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The aging time affects the structure, crystallinity, and adsorption properties of the MCM-41 molecular sieves. Calcination not only removes the template inside the molecular sieve but also causes the sample to restructure and improves the crystallinity.