Zeolitic Solid Acid Catalysts for the Alkylation of Isoparaffins with Olefins

通过烷基化过程，较轻的异链烷烃可以与小烯烃结合，生产出较重、辛烷值较高的汽油组分。 轻质异链烷烃（通常为异丁烷）与烯烃（通常为丁烯或丙烯）的烷基化以生产高辛烷值汽油组分，是炼油厂操作中的重要过程。 目前采用硫酸或氟化氢作为催化剂进行，具体选择取决于具体条件和要求。 环境和安全压力迫使炼油厂用更无害且环境可接受的材料替代腐蚀性、有毒或有害材料。 硫酸工艺会产生需要处置的有害污泥。 产生有毒蒸气云的爆炸危险使得氢氟酸工艺不受欢迎。 因此，正在开发利用固体酸催化剂进行烷基化的新催化路线。 虽然各种沸石已被研究作为异丁烷与丁烯（或丙烯）反应的潜在催化剂，但尚未出现可行的商业方法，主要是因为通过焦化催化剂失活的速度快得令人无法接受。 PI将合成和改性一些具有高反应活性和低结焦率的潜在可行的沸石催化剂，并将开展反应动力学和结焦特性的研究。 然后，他们将选择最有前途的催化剂，并进行详细的反应器设计分析，以确定最理想的工艺配置。

Through the process of alkylation, lighter isoparaffins can be combined with small olefins to produce heavier, higher octane gasoline components. This alkylation of light isoparaffins, typically isobutane, with olefins, typically butenes or propylene, to produce high octane gasoline components, is an important process in refinery operation. It is currently carried out with either sulfuric acid or hydrogen fluoride as the catalyst, the choice depending on specific conditions and requirement. Environmental and safety pressures are forcing refiners to replace corrosive, toxic or hazardous materials with more benign and environmentally acceptable materials. The sulfuric acid process produces a hazardous sludge which needs to be disposed of. The explosion hazard with resulting toxic vapor cloud makes the HF process undesirable. New catalytic routes for alkylation utilizing solid acid catalysts are therefore being developed. While various zeolites have been studied as potential catalysts for the reaction of isobutane with butenes (or propylene), no viable commercial process has yet emerged primarily because of the unacceptably rapid rate of catalyst deactivation through coking. The PIs will synthesize and modify a number of potentially viable zeolite catalysts with the properties of high reactivities and low coking rates, and will carry out a study of the reaction kinetics and coking characteristics. They will then select the most promising catalyst, and perform a detailed reactor design analysis in order to identify the most desirable process configuration.