Development of mesoporous ZSM-12 zeolite and its application in alkylation of 2-methylnaphthalene

Desilicated MTW zeolite was evaluated in methylation of 2-methylnaphthalene (2-MN) in a fixed-bed flow reactor at 450 °C. Mesoporous MTW was fabricated via a microwave-assisted desilication process using a harsh alkaline solution to improve the pore volume and the surface area. H-ZSM-12 zeolite was treated with 0.3 M of NaOH solution with different treatment times. Due to the harsh alkaline treatment, micropores were blocked by the deposition of the removed atoms. Due to the importance of methylnaphthalenes intermediates, modified MTW zeolites were evaluated in methylation of 2-MN. Methanol (MeOH), 2-MN and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (TMB) were fed to the reactor with a molar ratio of 15:15:70. Higher selectivity to 1-methylnaphthalene (1-MN) was observed rather than dimethylnaphthalene and trimethylnaphthalene with a yield of 13.6, 8 and 2.5 mol%, respectively. Moderate conversion up to 24.1 mol% was reached for 30 min reaction.