Zeolite-based catalysts for methanol to gasoline process: A review

Gasoline is considered as a crucial fuel in transportation; however, due to the rapid depletion of crude oil resources, finding an alternative route to produce gasoline from additional resources is essential. Methanol to gasoline process has always been a good choice because methanol can be produced through diverse resources such as natural gas, coal or biomass. This process provides plenty of advantages compared to other methods including lower cost and better quality of product. Zeolites and zeolite-based catalysts are considered as the most appropriate options for methanol to gasoline process due to their stability, product selectivity, non-corrosive and environmental compatibility. Zeolites as the catalyst have shown promising results for application in petrochemical industries. This paper reviewed the capability of zeolites for this reaction with advantage and disadvantage of each type of zeolite. Issues regarding physicochemical properties of zeolite such as structure, pore volume, surface area, acidity on selectivity and catalyst lifetime is covered. This review also summarizes the effect of other parameters such as modification and reaction conditions (e.g. temperature, pressure, weight hour space velocity, feed composition) on selectivity and conversion of methanol to gasoline.