Reaction Kinetics and Catalysis Letters, Vol.98, No.1, 133-138, 2009
Conversion of n-heptane to LPG and aromatics over Mo2C and W2C catalysts supported on ZSM-5
We have investigated the catalytic activity of W2C/HZSM-5 and Mo2C/HZSM-5 for conversion of n-heptane to LPG and aromatic products. The results show that the catalytic activity of the metallic carbides increases markedly in the presence of ZSM-5. For pure carbides, the main cracking products are methane and ethane as a result of the cleavage of the C-C bond at the end of the hydrocarbon chain. In contrast, the zeolitic catalysts produce LPG (propane, i-butane, and n-butane) through the cleavage of C-C bond in the medial bonds. It is observed that the metallic carbides play a key role in producing the aromatics, concerning the formation of olefin species and cyclization of them in the channels of zeolite.