Heptane and hexane isomerization on Pt/WO3-ZrO2 catalysts

Isomerization of heptane, hexane and their mixture in the presence of Pt/WO3-ZrO2 catalysts was studied. The content of tungsten oxide in the catalysts was varied from 15 to 30 wt.%. It was shown that C6-C7 alkane hydrocarbons are efficiently isomerized in the presence of Pt-containing tungstated zirconia catalysts, both in the case of individual components (heptane and hexane) and their mixture (heptane/hexane=70/30 (wt.%)). Simultaneous isomerization of heptane and hexane over Pt/WO3-ZrO2 catalysts with the tungsten oxide content 15-20 wt.% at 220°C provided the conversion of heptane 91.4-91.5% and hexane 76.6-77.4% at the yield of stable catalyzate 79.3-82.2 wt.%. Therewith, the yields of high-octane dimethyl and trimethyl substituted isomers of heptane (DTMS) and isomers of hexane – dimethylbutanes (DMB) were 25.4-26.9 and 19.7-20.3 wt.% as referred to individual components (heptane and hexane, respectively).