Aluminum zeolites

Similar behavior was discovered in subsequent studies for ZSM-5 (772,174) and ZSM-11 (173) zeolites synthesized with aluminum and boron in the zeolite lattice and for boron-synthesized ZSM-11 zeolites (173). The modification of the ZSM-5 and ZSM-11 samples produced a minor improvement in shape selectivity and a large decrease in acidity and hence activity. The initial heat for the B-ZSM-11 sample decreased from 160 kJ mol" for Al-ZSM-11 to 65 kJ mor , and the acidity decreased to 10% of the original value. The q-d curve also showed a maximum at high coverages, which was attributed to the formation of a NH NHa) complex on reacting B—OH—NH3 with NH3. Dehydroxylation at 1073 K increased the initial heat to 170 kJ mol", a value comparable to the initial heat of 185 kJ mol" on Al-ZSM-11, and it sharpened the maximum in the q-9 curve. This behavior is apparently due to the formation of a few strong Lewis acid sites. The sample synthesized with both boron and aluminum behaved differently than those with only aluminum or boron. The q-6 curve for this sample showed maxima at about 145-175 kJ mol" and at about 60-70 kJ mol for 673 and 1073 K dehydroxylation temperatures, respectively. The acidity of this sample was 30% lower than an Al-ZSM-11 sample with similar Si/Al ratio. The initial heat for the aluminum zeolite was 170 to 190 kJ mol". It was shown, with IR spectroscopy of adsorbed ammonia, that the boron-modified samples showed little or no Brpnsted acidity. 

Zeolites. A large and growing industrial use of aluminum hydroxide and sodium alurninate is the manufacture of synthetic zeoHtes (see Molecular sieves). ZeoHtes are aluminosiHcates with Si/Al ratios between 1 and infinity. There are 40 natural, and over 100 synthetic, zeoHtes. AH the synthetic stmctures are made by relatively low (100—150°C) temperature, high pH hydrothermal synthesis. For example the manufacture of the industriaHy important zeoHtes A, X, and Y is generaHy carried out by mixing sodium alurninate and sodium sHicate solutions to form a sodium alurninosiHcate gel. Gel-aging under hydrothermal conditions crystallizes the final product. In special cases, a small amount of seed crystal is used to control the synthesis. 

Strong acids are able to donate protons to a reactant and to take them back. Into this class fall the common acids, aluminum hahdes, and boron trifluoride. Also acid in nature are silica, alumina, alumi-nosihcates, metal sulfates and phosphates, and sulfonated ion exchange resins. They can transfer protons to hydrocarbons acting as weak bases. Zeolites are dehydrated aluminosilicates with small pores of narrow size distribution, to which is due their highly selective action since only molecules small enough to enter the pores can reacl . 

Siliceous gel zeolite A synthetic, inorganic exchanger produced by the aqueous reaction of alkali with aluminum salts. 

Zeolite Pellets or granules of aluminum silicate, used in water treatment or aircleaning applications. 

Acid-treated clays were the first catalysts used in catalytic cracking processes, but have been replaced by synthetic amorphous silica-alumina, which is more active and stable. Incorporating zeolites (crystalline alumina-silica) with the silica/alumina catalyst improves selectivity towards aromatics. These catalysts have both Fewis and Bronsted acid sites that promote carbonium ion formation. An important structural feature of zeolites is the presence of holes in the crystal lattice, which are formed by the silica-alumina tetrahedra. Each tetrahedron is made of four oxygen anions with either an aluminum or a silicon cation in the center. Each oxygen anion with a -2 oxidation state is shared between either two silicon, two aluminum, or an aluminum and a silicon cation. 

The four oxygen anions in the tetrahedron are balanced by the -i-4 oxidation state of the silicon cation, while the four oxygen anions connecting the aluminum cation are not balanced. This results in -1 net charge, which should be balanced. Metal cations such as Na", Mg ", or protons (H" ) balance the charge of the alumina tetrahedra. A two-dimensional representation of an H-zeolite tetrahedra is shown ... 

Aluminum distribution in zeolites is also important to the catalytic activity. An inbalance in charge between the silicon atoms in the zeolite framework creates active sites, which determine the predominant reactivity and selectivity of FCC catalyst. Selectivity and octane performance are correlated with unit cell size, which in turn can be correlated with the number of aluminum atoms in the zeolite framework. ... 

To improve the yield of mono- and dimethylamines, a shape selective catalyst has been tried. Carhogenic sieves are microporous materials (similar to zeolites), which have catalytic as well as shape selective properties. Comhining the amorphous aluminum silicate catalyst (used for producing the amines) with carhogenic sieves gave higher yeilds of the more valuable MMA and DMA. ... 

To reduce pollution, Dow developed a new catalyst system from the mor-denite-zeolite group to replace phosophoric acid or aluminum chloride catalysts. The new catalysts eliminates the disposal of acid wastes and handling corrosive materials. 

Zeolite is sometimes called molecular sieve. It has a well defined lattice structure. Its basic building blocks are silica and alumina tetrahedra (pyramids). Each tetrahedron (Figure 3-1) consists of a silicon or aluminum atom at the center of the tetrahedron, with oxygen atoms at the four comers. 

The elementary building block of the zeolite crystal is a unit cell. The unit cell size (UCS) is the distance between the repeating cells in the zeolite structure. One unit cell in a typical fresh Y-zeolite lathee contains 192 framework atomic positions 55 atoms of aluminum and 1atoms of silicon. This corresponds to a silica (SiOj) to alumina (AI.O,) molal ratio (SAR) of 5. The UCS is an important parameter in characterizing the zeolite structure. 

As stated above, a typical zeolite consists of silicon and aluminum atoms that are tetrahedrally joined by four oxygen atoms. Silicon is in a +4 oxidation state therefore, a tetrahedron containing silicon is neutral in charge. In contrast, aluminum is in a +3 oxidation state. This indicates that each tetrahedron containing aluminum has a net charge of -1, which must be balanced by a positive ion. 

Unit Cell Size (UCS). The UCS is a measure of aluminum sites or the total potential acidity per unit cell. The negatively-charged aluminum atoms are sources of active sites in the zeolite. Silicon atoms do not... 

Rare Earth Level. Rare earth (RE) elements serve as a bridge to stabilize aluminum atoms in the zeolite structure. They prevent the... 

An uitrastabie or a dealuminated zeolite (USY) is produced by replacing some of the aluminum ions in the framework with silicon. The conventional technique (Figure 3-9) includes the use of a high temperature (1,300-1,500°F [704-816°C]) steam calcination of... 

The reaction scheme is rather complex also in the case of the oxidation of o-xylene (41a, 87a), of the oxidative dehydrogenation of n-butenes over bismuth-molybdenum catalyst (87b), or of ethylbenzene on aluminum oxide catalysts (87c), in the hydrogenolysis of glucose (87d) over Ni-kieselguhr or of n-butane on a nickel on silica catalyst (87e), and in the hydrogenation of succinimide in isopropyl alcohol on Ni-Al2Oa catalyst (87f) or of acetophenone on Rh-Al203 catalyst (87g). Decomposition of n-and sec-butyl acetates on synthetic zeolites accompanied by the isomerization of the formed butenes has also been the subject of a kinetic study (87h). 

Zeolites are naturally occurring hydrous aluminum-sodium silicates in porous granule form. They are capable of exchanging their sodium base for calcium or magnesium and of expelling these alkaline earth metals for sodium by treatment with salt. Thus, they are a type of ion-exchange media. (Some zeolites act as molecular sieves by adsorption of water and polar compounds.)... 

The coagulant sodium aluminate (NaA102) is strongly caustic (contributing hydroxide alkalinity to the BW) and reacts with calcium and magnesium salts and any silica present to form a zeolite sludge of calcium-magnesium-aluminum silcate. 

Several different possible zeolite structures may result, and if the sodium content is too high, calcium and magnesium are excluded and a hard zeolite scale of sodium-aluminum silicate preferentially forms. If only calcium is present, calcium-aluminum silicate zeolite forms, also as a hard scale. If only magnesium is present in solution, it forms the flocculant magnesium aluminate, MgAl204. 

Today n-paraffms are exclusively produced from the corresponding distillation cuts of paraffin-rich oils with the use of molecular sieves. Molecular sieves are synthetically manufactured aluminum silicates of the zeolite type, which after dehydration have hollow spaces of specific diameters with openings of specific diameters. The molecules are then able to penetrate the openings in the correct size and form and are held in the hollow spaces by electrostatic or van der Waals forces. The diameter of the zeolite type used for the production of paraffins is 5 A and is refined so that the n-paraffins (C5-C24) can penetrate the hollow spaces while the iso- and cyclic paraffins are unable to pass through [15]. 

In zeolite synthesis (ref. 2) an aqueous mixture containing a silicon source, an aluminum source, an alkali source (usually NaOH) is autoclaved and subjected to hydrothermal treatment. Hydrated Na-ions are then filling the pore system in the as-synthesized zeolite. In the case of relatively high Si/Al zeolites an organic template is required which is usually a tetraalkylammonium compound, applied as the bromide or the hydroxide. 

In order to get the pore system of zeolites available for adsorption and catalysis the template molecules have to be removed. This is generally done by calcination in air at temperatures up to 500 °C. A careful study (ref. 12) of the calcination of as-synthesized TPA-containing MFI-type single crystals by infrared spectroscopy and visible light microscopy showed that quat decomposition sets in around 350 °C. Sometimes special techniques are required, e.g. heating in an ammonia atmosphere (ref. 13) in the case of B-MFI (boron instead of aluminum present) to prevent loss of crystallinity of the zeolite during template quat removal. 

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