Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The petrochemical industry is currently strongly based on the production of light olefins ethylene and propylene, which are mainly produced by hydrocarbons from oil. Due to the environmental appeal and unstable oil market scenario, alternative routes to the production of these olefins are being developed, meanly regarding the use of alcohol as raw material. In this context, ethanol is highlighted with Ethanol to Olefins Process (ETO), in which there is catalytic conversion via reactions of dehydration, oligomerization, cracking, isomerization, among others. This work aims to obtain ethylene and propylene from ethanol using ZSM-5 zeolite as catalyst in its acid form. The synthesis of this material was performed using non-conventional sources of silicon and aluminum, kaolin and silica extracted from rice husk ash, and in the absence of nitrogenous templates. The use of seeds was employed together with ethanol, which acts as cotemplate of the zeolitic structure, in different quantities, and in different silica/alumina ratios and crystallisation times. The influence of each of these variables was evaluated with the support of a full factorial experimental design on the final characteristics of the synthesized samples, such as relative crystallinity, chemical composition and textural properties. All samples presented the characteristic crystal structure of ZSM-5 as verified by both X-ray diffractograms and infrared spectra. However, samples with small amounts of seed and ethanol added to short periods of crystallization presented lower crystallinities and specific areas in comparison to other samples. On the other hand, the use of high quantities of seed can lead to the formation of quartz when the crystallization time is extended. With the catalytic tests of ethanol conversion into olefins it was possible to evaluate the influence of synthesis variables, the residence time and the concentration of ethanol in feed, proving the importance of all synthesis variables in the distribution of the reaction products The total conversion of ethanol was observed in all tests made, evidencing the high activity of hZSM-5 in the dehydration of ethanol to ethylene, being the propylene yield strongly influenced by the reaction temperature and characteristics of the catalitic material, with a maximum yield of 27% at 500 °C. The HZSM-5 presented high stability under reaction conditions while maintaining the production of ethylene for more than 40 hours of reaction, whereas the coke formation drastically reduces the production of propylene still in the early hours of reaction. / A indústria petroquímica atualmente está fortemente baseada na produção das olefinas leves eteno e propeno, que são principalmente produzidas através de hidrocarbonetos oriundos do petróleo. Em virtude do apelo ambiental e do instável cenário do mercado de petróleo, rotas alternativas para a produção destas olefinas estão sendo desenvolvidas, principalmente no que tange a utilização de álcoois como matéria-prima. Neste contexto, o etanol ganha destaque com o processo Ethanol to Olefins (ETO), no qual se tem conversão catalítica via reações de desidratação, oligomerização, craqueamento, isomerização, entre outras. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo a obtenção de eteno e propeno através de etanol empregando como catalisador a zeólita do tipo ZSM-5 na forma ácida. A síntese deste material foi realizada utilizando fontes não convencionais de silício e alumínio, o caulim e a sílica extraída da cinza da casca de arroz, e na ausência de direcionadores de estrutura nitrogenados. O emprego de sementes foi adotado juntamente com etanol, que atua como codirecionador da estrutura zeolítica, em diferentes quantidades, assim como em diferentes razões sílica/alumina e tempos de cristalização. A influência de cada uma destas variáveis foi avaliada com o auxílio do planejamento experimental fatorial completo nas características finais das amostras sintetizadas, como cristalinidade relativa, composição química e propriedades texturais. Todas as amostras obtidas apresentaram estrutura cristalina característica da ZSM-5, comprovada tanto nos difratogramas de Raios-X como nos espectros de absorção na região do Infravermelho. Entretanto, as amostras com pequenas quantidades de sementes e de etanol somadas a curtos períodos de cristalização apresentaram cristalinidades e áreas específicas reduzidas em relação às demais amostras. Em contrapartida, o emprego de elevadas quantidades de sementes pode levar a formação de quartzo quando o tempo de cristalização é prolongado. Com os testes catalíticos de conversão de etanol em olefinas foi possível avaliar a influência das variáveis de síntese, do tempo de residência e a concentração de etanol na alimentação, comprovando a importância de todas as variáveis de síntese na distribuição dos produtos da reação. A conversão total de etanol foi observada em todos os testes realizados, evidenciando a elevada atividade da HZSM-5 na desidratação de etanol a eteno, sendo o rendimento a propeno fortemente influenciado pela temperatura de reação e características do material catalítico, com máximo rendimento igual a 27% na temperatura de 500°C. A HZSM-5 apresentou elevada estabilidade nas condições de reação, mantendo a produção de eteno por mais de 40 horas de reação, enquanto que a formação de coque reduz drasticamente a produção de propeno ainda nas primeiras horas de reação.

The effect of microwave radiation on the prepared 0.5Fe/ZSM-5 catalysts as a post-synthesis modification step was studied in the methanol-to-hydrocarbons process using the temperature-programmed surface reaction (TPSR) technique. This was achieved by preparing a series of 0.5Fe/ZSM-5 based catalysts under varying microwave power levels (0–700 W) and over a 10 s period, after iron impregnating the HZSM-5 zeolite (Si/Al = 30 and 80). Physicochemical properties were determined by XRD, SEM, BET, FT-IR, C3H9N-TPSR, and TGA techniques. It was found that microwave radiation induced few changes in the bulk properties of the 0.5Fe/ZSM-5 catalysts, but their surface and catalytic behavior were distinctly changed. Microwave radiation enhanced crystallinity and mesoporous growth, decreased coke and methane formation, decreased the concentration of Brønsted acidic sites, and decreased surface area and micropore volume as the microwave power level was increased from 0 to 700 W. From the TPSR profiles, it was observed that microwave radiation affects the peak intensities of the produced hydrocarbons. Application of microwave radiation shifted the desorption temperatures of the MTH process products over the HZSM-5(30) and HZSM-5(80) based catalysts to lower and higher values respectively. The MeOH-TPSR profiles showed that methanol was converted to DME and subsequently converted to aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. It is reasonable to suggest that microwave radiation would be an essential post-synthesis modification step to mitigate coke formation and methane formation and increase catalyst activity and selectivity. / Chemical Engineering / M. Tech. (Chemical Engineering)