Catalysts
prepared for ethanol dehydration in a fixed-bed reactor
acted as strong active acidic catalysts under reaction conditions
at lower temperatures. Experimental conditions including the catalyst
type [active aluminum oxide (γ-Al
2
O
3
)
and ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst modified using two-stage through dealumination
or desilication and by using the impregnation method with phosphorous
and lanthanum], weight hourly space velocity (WHSV), ethanol concentration,
and reaction temperature were investigated to obtain optimal reaction
conditions. The catalysts were characterized using the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller
method, temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia gas, thermogravimetric
analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction.
The results revealed that the ethylene yield and selectivity were
98.5 and 100%, respectively, for the ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst modified
through dealumination at a temperature of 220 °C and WHSV of
2.5 h
–1
when the ethanol concentration was 95%.
The ethylene yield and selectivity were 94.3 and 94.4%, respectively,
for the ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst modified using phosphorous at a temperature
of 240 °C and WHSV of 1.5 h
–1
when the ethanol
concentration was 20%. Both of these catalysts were the most favorable
among all prepared catalysts.