Catalytic Conversion of Chloromethane to Methane and Propane on SiO2/Al2O3: Kinetics of Deactivation Caused by Coking
Leopoldo O. A. Rojas *
Universidade Federal da Paraíba, UFPB/João Pessoa, Brazil
João F. Sousa
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, UFRN/Natal, Brazil
Juan A. C. Ruiz
Centro de Tecnologias do Gás e Energias Renováveis,CTGAS-ER/Natal, Brazil
Márcio B. D. Bezerra
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, UFRN/Natal, Brazil
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Chloromethane was catalytically converted into methane and propane in a fixed-bed reactor with control of pressure and flow rates. The deactivation by coking was studied in a microadsorber equipped with gravimetric monitoring. In this study, two models are proposed: the first one proposes that product production competes with coke formation; and the other one proposes that coke formation competes with product desorption. Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters were estimated. Results showed that chloromethane is activated by silica-alumina but the products are usually high molecular weight hydrocarbons, which are broken down by acid sites to produce compounds like methane and propane.
Keywords: Chloromethane, silica-alumina, deactivation, fixed-bed reactor, hydrocarbons