Development of Ni/HTA/Hβ alkane isomerization catalyst with improved selectivity for multi-branched isoalkanes

Abstract

Isoalkanes are ideal gasoline components, and the isomerization reaction of light alkanes is the most effective way to increase the octane number of gasoline. Non-precious metal/zeolite catalysts are the mainstream bifunctional catalysts for alkane isomerization reactions, but there are still challenges in achieving high octane number components—multi-branched isoalkanes in isomerization reactions. In this article, Ni–heteropoly acid/zeolite alkane isomerization catalyst (Ni–HTA/Hβ) was prepared by impregnation method. Under optimized conditions, the conversion rate of n-hexane was 79.5%, the yield of isoalkanes was 78.7%, and the selectivity of isoalkanes was as high as 99.0%. In the product distribution, the Ni–HTA/Hβ catalyst can obtain more multi-branched isoalkanes, namely, 2,2-dimethylbutane and 2,3-dimethylbutane, with a total content of up to 19.2%, achieving the goal of further improving the yield of double-branched alkanes in C₆ alkane isomerization products.