Dealumination and Characterization of Natural Mordenite-Rich Tuffs

Abstract

The present study evaluates the feasibility of partially dealuminated natural mordenite as a catalyst support by studying improvement in its textural properties. This is the first study that reports the dealumination of natural zeolite-based tuffs from Ecuador. For this purpose, mordenite-rich tuffs were obtained from deposits close to Guayaquil, Ecuador. The raw material was micronized in order to increase its surface, and treated with NH4Cl. NH4+ cation-exchanged samples were finally reacted with HCl(aq) to complete the dealumination process. The partially dealuminated samples were characterized using techniques such as XRD, FT-IR, SEM-EDS, and identification of their textural properties. Dealumination with HCl(aq) increased the Si/Al ratio up to 9 and kept the crystallographic structure of natural mordenite, as XRD results showed that the structure of mordenite was not altered after the dealumination process. On the other hand, textural properties such as surface area and microporosity were improved as compared to natural mordenite. In view of these results, the feasibility of using natural mordenite as a catalyst support is discussed in this study.

Enhanced Isopropyl Alcohol Conversion over Acidic Nickel Phosphate-Supported Zeolite Catalysts

“…Low metal impurities were present on the zeolite, which was due to the activation by acid prior to modification. 54 Furthermore, 15.88% of carbon was detected in zeolite, and this condition was also reported by Gea et al 51 which reported that Sarulla natural zeolite had a considerable amount of carbon (20.27–23.25%). According to Table 1 , there was an increase in the nickel content up to 10.59%, which indicated that nickel had been successfully impregnated on the zeolite.…”

“…Because the as-prepared zeolite was collected from nature, 3.01% of impurities such as alkali and transition metals were reasonably detected. Low metal impurities were present on the zeolite, which was due to the activation by acid prior to modification . Furthermore, 15.88% of carbon was detected in zeolite, and this condition was also reported by Gea et al which reported that Sarulla natural zeolite had a considerable amount of carbon (20.27–23.25%).…”