Conversion of Methanol into Hydrocarbons over Biomass‐Assisted ZSM‐5 Zeolites: Effect of the Biomass Nature

Abstract Biomass waste was revealed to act as a promising bio‐template to modify and possibly tailor the zeolite intrinsic properties: texture, crystallinity and acidity. According to the “bio‐sourced secondary template (BSST)” concept, 7 types of abundant biomasses (lignin, oxidized lignin, coffee bagasse, spent tea leaves and three kinds of algae) were selected and their role was evaluated in the zeolite crystallization. As‐synthesized biomass‐assisted ZSM‐5 zeolites were characterized by XRD, SEM, BET and NH 3 ‐TPD techniques to investigate the effects of biomass extra‐addition. The results showed that mainly surface acidic properties were impacted by the presence of biomass. Among them, spent tea leaves‐mediated ZSM‐5 (named A‐tea) exhibited a high catalytic performance in the methanol‐to‐olefins reaction (MTO), with full methanol conversion for more than 50 h at 83 % selectivity towards light olefins, probably due to its mild acidity. Besides, more acidic ZSM‐5 zeolites obtained using three algae (algaCM, algaTM and algaBB), according to the B‐method, demonstrated a methanol conversion superior to 50 % during 75, 94 and 134 h, respectively. This study led to synthesize potential catalysts exhibiting a high MTO catalytic performance, as well as providing hints for future investigations aiming to control zeolite nucleation and growth following the BSST strategy.