Modulated hydrocarbon distribution of gasoline deriving from butene conversion in the presence of syngas

ZnCrO x -ZSM-5 bifunctional OXZEO catalyst enables the synthesis of environmentally friendly gasoline range iso-paraffins with low aromatics and olefins contents direct from butene and syngas with high space time yield. With the expansion of butene production capacity, clean and efficient conversion of mixed butene attracts increasing attention. Herein we report direct co-conversion of butene and syngas to high-quality gasoline enabled by a bifunctional OXZEO catalyst comprising ZnCrO x oxide and ZSM-5 zeolite. A gasoline selectivity of 71.6% at 98.1% butene conversion and 26.2% CO conversion have been obtained under the reaction conditions of 360 °C, 3 MPa and 3000 mL g −1 h −1 . The space time yield of gasoline of 0.25 g·g −1 ·h −1 is achieved. Interestingly, the presence of syngas can effectively facilitate iso-paraffin production while hindering the formation of aromatics. This is attributed to the prohibited hydrogen transfer aromatization process of butene on ZSM-5 in the presence of H 2 . Furthermore, the formation of isomers of gasoline range hydrocarbons is favored because the active intermediates generated from CO/H 2 activation over ZnCrO x oxide could react with butene over ZSM-5 zeolite. Thus, the product distribution among gasoline range hydrocarbons is modulated with reduced heavy aromatics and improved iso-paraffins, which is desirable for application as fuels. This provides an alternative environmentally friendly technology to utilize still increasing mixed butene.