Preparation and catalytic performance of a novel catalyst for C_8 aromatics isomerization

A novel C8 aromatics isomerization catalyst was prepared using a special structured zeolite as the acid component,its catalytic activity and selectivity for xylene isomerization was studied.A commercial catalyst used currently was selected as a contrast catalyst for the evaluation under each preferable reaction conditions respectively.With different stuff,the PX value in the xylene products obtained over the novel catalyst was 19.06%-24.14%,the ethylbenzene conversion was 32.07%-41.50%,the C8 hydrocarbon yield was 97.08%-99.11%.These results were all substantially higher than those obtained over the contrast catalyst.Meanwhile,the toluene value of the novel catalyst was 0.26%-1.20%,C9 or heavier aromatics value was 0.22%-0.62%,they were both much lower than those of the contrast catalyst.Thus,the prepared novel catalyst has better catalytic activity and selectivity for C8 aromatics isomerization,and it can be operated under higher WHSV(weight hourly space velocity).