The Catalytic Evaluation of Structured Zeolite Catalysts

ZSM-5 films, with thicknesses between 150 and 2300 nm, supported on 3 mm diameter alumina beads are characterised in terms of their catalytic activity and selectivity for tri-isopropylbenzene cracking and para-xylene isomerisation at 450 °C. A reaction-diffusion model adequately represents the experimental data and is used to estimate intrinsic reactivity and diffusion properties of the zeolite films. Results show that the external activity, overall activity and the diffusivity increase with increasing film thickness. The variation in reactivity and diffusivity, when compared to physio-chemical data, are a result of structural defects and non-homogeneities of the zeolite film. The measured diffusivities are within an order of magnitude of those extrapolated from literature. Thick zeolite films have the largest Thiele modulus as the increase in zeolite film thickness dominates over the structural defects. The largest selectivity improvements are observed for thick zeolite films.