Investigation on the Differences of the Alcohols Conversion over H-SAPO-34 Zeolite

In this paper, the conversion of methanol and butanol and the differences in product distribution over H-SAPO-34 were investigated. Some important reaction intermediates were captured during the reaction process by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and 13C cross polarization magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (13C CP MAS NMR) spectroscopy. In the methanol conversion process, ethene, propene and butene are the main products, while in the butanol conversion process, butanol is mainly dehydrated to form butene, and propene and butene are the main products in the initial stage. Light olefins are generated from both methanol and butanol conversion over H-SAPO-34. Furthermore, the aromatic species were observed in both retained species analysis and 13C CP MAS NMR, indicating that similar organic species confined in the H-SAPO-34 during the conversion of alcohols. Starting from different kinds of alcohols, the acid-catalysis environment in the confined space of H-SAPO-34 can catalyze the methanol and butanol conversion to produce light olefins.