Comparison of methanol to gasoline conversion in one-step, two-step, and cascade mode in the presence of H-ZSM-5 zeolite.

In this report, three technological modes for methanol-to-gasoline reaction in the presence of H-ZSM-5 catalyst are compared: (i) direct methanol transformation to hydrocarbons; (ii) two-step (methanol-dimethyl ether-hydrocarbons); and (iii) cascade pathway. Light hydrocarbon gases (methane, ethylene, propylene, and isobutene) and liquid aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, xylene, cresol, durol, naphthalene, methylnaphthalene, ethyl naphthalene, isopropyl naphthalene, methyl isopropyl naphthalene, etc.) were found to be the main reaction products. The experimental results showed that the classical two-step methanol to gasoline (MTG) process nowadays remains the most effective for gasoline-range hydrocarbons production, while one-step and cascade schemes require further investigation and the development of reactor systems as well as the operating conditions. The product distribution of MTG synthesis after 120 h on stream in the case of two-step mode was found to be the following: liquid C6-C8 hydrocarbons - 23%; C1-C5 gaseous products - 65%; heavy C9-C12 hydrocarbons - 10%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]