Kinetics of Toluene Methylation Over USY-Zeolite Catalyst in a Riser Simulator

The kinetics of toluene methylation over ultra stable Y (USY)-zeolite catalyst in a riser simulator, are analyzed. Zeolite catalysts for use in fluidized-bed reactors are often incorporated in amorphous matrix to achieve the desired fluidization of the catalyst particles. It is observed that a non-optimized catalyst with low shape selectivity properties can perform exceptionally well in a fluidized bed process of toluene methylation. It is also found that toluene conversion increases with temperature. Toluene methylation in the riser simulator also produces a non-equilibrium xylene. The results show that that xylene selectivity is almost independent of both reaction time and toluene conversion but highly dependent on reaction temperature.