Hydroconversion of n-hexane on Pt / mordenite catalysts

Catalysts containing 0.35% Pt on Hand NH 4 -mordenites were prepared via Pt incorporation in H-M, (Pt/H-M); Pt incorporation in steamed H-M, (Pt/StH-M); steam-treating of Pt/H-M, (StPt/H-M); Pt incorporation in NH 4 -M, (Pt/NH 4 -M); and steam-treating of Pt/VH 4 -M, (StPt/VH 4 -M). The catalysts were tested for n-hexane hydroconversion whereby their activities were found to be in the order: Pt/NH4-M > Pt/StH-M > Pt/H-M > StPt/H-M > StPt/NH 4 -M. Several catalyst characteristics were evaluated; diffusion restriction extent via calculating the Thiele modulus, Pt dispersion in the zeolitic supports by H2 chemisorption, strength of strong acid sites via measuring temperature programmed desorption (TPD) of ammonia using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and evaluation of the deammoniation extent of NH4-M containing catalysts using the DSC system. Moreover, the activation energy and entropy change for the hydroconversion reaction were estimated and correlated with the catalytic behaviours.