The study of the aromatisation of methane was conducted at 750oC over metalimpregnated H-ZSM-5 catalysts with a feed flow rate of 13 ml/min and the composition of the feed was 90% methane balance argon. Typical products that were detected from the outlet stream were ethene, ethane, benzene and toluene. The amount of coke produced was determined by using 10% argon as an internal standard. The effects of different parameters such as the type of the support material, the molybdenum content, the %XRD crystallinity and SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of H-ZSM-5, the reaction temperature, the feed flow rate, the type of the molybdenum precursor, the catalysts preparation method, the addition of dopants, silanation and the regenerability of the catalysts were investigated. The results obtained showed that H-ZSM-5 was a better support for the preparation of catalysts used for the aromatisation of methane. Mo/H-ZSM-5 catalysts were more active when the molybdenum loading was between 2 and 4 wt% and loadings higher than 4% led to lower activities. The lower activities observed at higher molybdenum loadings was related to the poor dispersion and decrease in the pore volumes and surface areas observed due to the formation of MoO3 crystallites. Furthermore, the zeolite structure collapsed under the reaction conditions when the molybdenum loading was more than 4 wt%. The study showed that the conversion of methane increased linearly with increasing reaction temperature and the apparent activation energy of the reaction was found to be 64.5 kJ/mol. The results of the effect of the %XRD crystallinity of H-ZSM-5 on the performance of H-ZSM-5 catalysts showed that 2%Mo/H-ZSM-5 catalysts were more active when the crystallinity of the zeolite was between 50 and 70%. The conversion of methane decreased with an increase in the SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of H-ZSM-5. Higher aromatisation activities were observed when the SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of H-ZSM-5 was iii 60. The type of the molybdenum precursor used in the preparation of 2%Mo/HZSM- 5 catalysts did not have a significant influence on the conversion of the catalysts, but higher selectivities for aromatics were observed when ammonium heptamolybdate was used as a source of molybdenum. The catalysts prepared by physical mixing of MoO3 and H-ZSM-5 catalysts were more active than those prepared by impregnation with solutions of ammonium heptamolybdate. The presence of dopants such as boron, silver and alkali metal ions (Li+, Na+ and K+) in 2%Mo/H-ZSM-5 catalysts was also investigated. Boron (0.05-0.2 wt%) did not affect the conversion level of the catalysts but changed their selectivity properties. The selectivity for C2 hydrocarbons increased with boron content, while the selectivity for aromatics decreased. The addition of silver ions (0.5 wt%) significantly improved the conversion of the catalysts. This was attributed to the enhancement of the acvidity of the catalysts upon addition of silver ions which was observed by temperature programmed desorption of ammonia and pyridine adsorption studies of the infrared spectra of the catalysts. The addition of alkali metal ions in the Mo:Metal ratio of 0.5 led to decreased catalytic activities, due to the lowered acidities of the catalysts. The silanation of H-ZSM-5 improved the conversion of methane but lowered the selectivity for aromatics. A comparative study of the W-based and Mo-based catalyst at equivalent molar contents showed that molybdenum-based catalysts were more active than tungsten based catalysts. The study also showed that the catalytic performance of 2%Mo/H-ZSM-5 catalysts could be regenerated to appreciable levels by treatment of the catalysts in air at 600oC. The possibility of using Mo/H-ZSM-5 catalysts for the aromatisation of propane was also evaluated at 530oC, with consideration of three variables, namely, the molybdenum loading, the reaction temperature and %XRD crystallinity. The results indicated that impregnation H-ZSM-5 catalysts with molybdenum led to lower iv propane aromatisation activities. This lower activity was attributed to the lower Brønsted acid sites in the Mo/H-ZSM-5. The activities of the catalysts could be improved by operation at higher temperatures, but the rate of deactivation was also improved at higher temperatures. In line with the observations from the conversion of methane, higher activities were observed when the %XRD crystallinity of the catalyst was 61%.

Mélanger un oxyde de gallium avec une zéolithe H-ZSM-5 donne les mêmes résultats catalytiques en craquage du n-hexane, déshydrogénation du cyclohexane et en aromatisation du propane qu'un catalyseur préparer par échange cationique avec un sel de gallium. En fait, le véritable catalyseur est synthétisé lors du prétraitement sous hydrogène pendant lequel le suboxyde de gallium (Ga2O) issu de la réduction de Ga2O3 réagit avec les sites de Brønsted de la zéolithe pour donner des hydrures de gallium. La réaction de déshydrogénation des alcanes fait intervenir un site catalytique bifonctionnel composé d'un site de Lewis du Ga et d'un site basique généré par l'oxygène de la charpente zéolithique. L'activation du propane se produit sur un hydrure de gallium via un mécanisme de type alkyle. Les aluminosilicates dopés avec Ga sont plus performants que les gallosilicates, ce qui signifie que les espèces de gallium sont plus actives en extra-réseau que dans le réseau de la zéolithe.Le coke généré lors de l'aromatisation du propane est très polyaromatique avec plus de quinze noyaux benzéniques, localisé dans les micropores il s'avère très toxique. La création de mésopores intracristallins sans modifier les propriétés acides de la zéolithe (nombre et force des sites acides) est possible par un traitement alcalin. Leur présence permet de limiter les réactions de transfert d'hydrogène mais est peu efficace pour contrôler la croissance du coke, les mésopores sont mêmes négatifs pour la réaction de déshydrogénation rendant les catalyseurs bifonctionnels hiérarchisés inefficaces en aromatisation du propane ; l'étape cinétiquement limitante pour cette réaction étant la déshydrogénation. / The mixing Ga2O3 with the H-ZSM-5 zeolite yields to the same catalytic performance in n-hexane cracking, cyclohexane dehydrogenation and propane aromatization than a bifunctional catalyst prepared by cationic exchange. The real catalyst appears upon hydrogen pretreatment in which gallium (Ga2O) suboxide that results from Ga2O3 reduction, reacts with the zeolite Brønsted sites to yield to gallium hydrides.The dehydrogenation reaction of alkanes involves a bifunctional catalytic site constituted of a Lewis site (Ga species) and basic site (an oxygen of the zeolite framework). The aluminosilicate catalysts loaded with Ga are more efficient than the gallosilicate catalysts, therefore extraframework gallium species is more active than the framework gallium species.The coke formed during the propane aromatization is very polyaromatic with more than fifteen benzenic rings, is very toxic. The creation of intracrystalline mesopores by alkaline treatment.preserves the acidic properties of the zeolite (number and strength of acidic sites). The mesopores allow limiting the hydrogen transfer reactions but is not very effective for impeding the growth of the coke, the presence of mesopores are even negative for the dehydrogenation reaction making inefficient the hierarchical bifunctional catalysts in propane aromatization; the kinetically limiting step for this reaction being dehydrogenation.

<p>The expanded production of shale gas has increased the desire for developing methods for converting light alkanes, especially propane and ethane, into aromatic species (i.e., benzene, toluene, and xylene). A multi-step process for conversion of light alkanes to aromatics may be developed, where the first stage converts light alkanes into olefins and hydrogen, and the second stage converts olefins to aromatics. However, to determine the viability of this process, better understanding of the performance of olefin aromatization in the presence of equimolar hydrogen is necessary. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Previous studies on the conversion of olefins to aromatics with bifunctional ZSM-5 catalysts have concluded that benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX) yields are significantly higher than for ZSM-5 alone. These results were attributed to the presence of a dehydrogenation function of Ga or Zn leading to higher rates of aromatics formation. In this study, a highly active, bifunctional PtZn/SiO2 (1.3 wt% Pt, 2.6 wt% Zn) with H-ZSM-5 (Si/Al = 40) catalyst is investigated for propene aromatization at 723 K and 823 K. At low to moderate propene conversions, in addition to BTX, light alkanes and olefins are produced. Many of these may also be converted to aromatics at higher propene conversion while others are not, for example, light alkanes. When compared at equivalent space velocity and propylene conversion, the bifunctional catalyst has a much higher selectivity to aromatics than ZSM-5; however, when compared at equivalent conversion of all reactive intermediates, the bifunctional catalyst exhibits very similar BTX selectivity. At 723 K, for both ZSM-5 and the bifunctional catalyst, the primary non-reactive by-products are propane and butane. At 823 K, both ZSM-5 and the bifunctional catalyst convert propane and butane to aromatics increasing the aromatic yields, and the by-products are methane and ethane.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Additionally, previous studies have investigated the H-ZSM-5 and Ga/H-ZSM-5 in the absence of H2, which is necessary to understand in order to develop a process for the conversion of light alkanes to aromatics. Herein, proton-form ZSM-5 and Ga modified H-ZSM-5 are compared for propylene aromatization in the presence and absence of equimolar hydrogen at 1.9 kPa and 50 kPa partial pressures. At 1.9 kPa, the presence of H2 is shown to have no impact on the product distribution on H-ZSM-5 or Ga/H-ZSM-5. At 50 kPa, H2 is shown to have no significant impact on H-ZSM-5 and has no impact on Ga/H-ZSM-5 at conversions <80%. Additionally, the addition of Ga to H-ZSM-5 is shown to have no impact on the product distribution in the presence or absence of H2, contrary to previous reports. The disagreement with previous literature stems from previous literature comparing H-ZSM-5 and Ga/H-ZSM-5 at equivalent space velocity rather than equivalent propylene conversion despite previous studies showing that the presence of Ga increases the conversion at equivalent space velocity for olefin aromatization. </p>