The influence of the raw material nature on the aromatization of C6 hydrocarbons on Zn/H-ZSM-5 catalysts

The structure of the hydrocarbon feed has a marked influence on the catalytic performances in the aromatization of C-6 hydrocabons on a Zn/H-ZSM-5 catalyst. In order to prove this fact, a study was carried out, using n-hexane, 2-methylpentane, cyclohexane and cyclohexene as feed. For all hydrocarbons, the reaction pathway to aromatics was dominated by cracking, oligomerization and hydrogen transfer reactions, and not by direct dehydrogenation, not even in the case of cyclohexene. Reaction products are always the same, but in different amounts, suggesting that the reaction intermediates are identical in all cases.