Adsorption properties of an adsorbent or a catalyst towards adsorbates are crucial in the process of adsorption separation or catalytic reaction. Surface morphology and structure of adsorbents have a significant impact on the adsorption properties. In this study, a novel acidic ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-(triethoxysilylpropyl)imidazolium hydrogen sulfate(i.e., [BTPIm][HSO_4]), was synthesized and subsequently grafted onto the MCM-36 zeolite for the regulation of its adsorption properties towards isobutane and 1-butene. The resultant [BTPIm][HSO_4]-immobilized MCM-36(i.e., MCM-36-IL) was characterized by FT-IR, XPS, XRD, SEM, TG/DTG and N_2 adsorption–desorption measurement. It was found that the specific surface area, micropore volume and mesopore volume of the MCM-36 support underwent a reduction upon the immobilization of ionic liquid,while the surface density of acid increased from 0.0014 to 0.0035 mmol·m^(-2). The adsorption capacity of isobutane and 1-butene on the MCM-36-IL was determined by a static volumetric method. Results demonstrated that the interaction between isobutane and MCM-36-IL was enhanced and the interaction between 1-butene and MCM-36-IL was reduced. As a result, a tunable adsorption ratio of isobutane/1-butene on MCM-36 was achieved.With the increase in surface density of acid and the tunable adsorption ratio of isobutane and 1-butene on the functionalized MCM-36, the acidic ionic liquid-immobilized zeolites are beneficial to obtain an improved reaction yield and a prolonged catalyst life in the reactions catalyzed by solid acid.
The complicated reaction mechanism and the character of competitive reactions lead to a stringent requirement for the catalyst of C_4 alkylation process. Due to their unique properties, ionic liquids(ILs) are thought to be new potential acid catalysts for C_4 alkylation. An analysis of the regular and modified chloroaluminate ILs, novel Br?nsted ILs and composite ILs used in isobutane/butene alkylation shows that the use of either ILs or ILs coupled with mineral acid as homogeneous catalysts can help to greatly adjust the acid strength. By modifying the structural parameters of the cations and anions of the ILs, the solubility of the reactants could also be adjusted, which in turn displays a positive effect on improving the activity of ILs. Immobilization of ILs is an effective way to modulate the surface adsorption/desorption properties and acid strength distribution of the solid acid catalysts. Such a process has a tremendous potential to reduce the deactivation of catalyst and enhance the activity of the solid acid catalyst. The development of novel acid catalysts for C_4 alkylation is a comprehensive consideration of acid strength and its distribution, interfacial properties and transport characteristics.
The densities and surface tensions of [Bmim][TFO]/H_2SO_4, [Hmim][TFO]/H_2SO_4 and [Omim][TFO]/H_2SO_4 binary mixtures were measured by pycnometer and Wilhelmy plate method respectively. The results show that densities and surface tensions of the mixtures decreased monotonously with increasing temperatures and increasing ionic liquid(IL) molar fraction. IL with longer alkyl side-chain length brings a lower density and a smaller surface tension to the ILs/H_2SO_4 binary mixtures. The densities and surface tensions of the mixtures are fitted well by Jouyban–Acree(JAM) model and LWW model respectively. Redlich-Kister(R–K) equation and modified Redlich-Kister(R–K) equation describe the excess molar volumes and excess surface tensions of the mixtures well respectively. Adding a small amount of ILs(xILb 0.1) into sulfuric acid brings an obvious decrease to the density and the surface tension. The results imply that the densities and surface tensions of ILs/H_2SO_4 binary mixtures can be modulated by changing the IL dosage or tailoring the IL structure.
The adsorption ratio of isobutane/1-butene on the catalyst surface is one of the most important factors for the C_4 alkylation process. Regulation of isobutane/1-butene adsorption ratio on the zeolite-supported acid catalyst is a big challenge for catalyst preparation. To regulate the isobutane/1-butene adsorption ratio, four types of ionic liquid(i.e., IL) with different alkyl chain lengths and different acid group numbers were synthesized and were subsequently immobilized onto the MCM-22 zeolite. The as-synthesized IL-immobilized MCM-22(i.e., MCM-22-IL)was characterized by FTIR, TGA, BET, XPS and XRD, and their adsorption capacities and adsorption molar ratios of isobutane to 1-butene(I/O) were investigated to correlate with surface features of MCM-22-IL. Results showed that the immobilization of ILs led to a decrease of specific surface area and pore volume. But the surface density of acid groups was increased and the adsorption molar ratio of isobutane/1-butene(I/O) was significantly improved by the immobilization of ionic liquids. The adsorption molar ratio of I/O is substantially improved from 0.75 to above 0.9 at 300 kPa upon immobilizing ILs. Although the alkyl chain length of ILs was found to have little effect on the adsorption molar ratio of I/O, the increase of acid group numbers led to a dramatic decrease in the adsorption I/O ratio. The results illustrated that immobilizing ionic liquids is an effective way to modify the textural, chemical and morphological properties of MCM-22. Accordingly, the immobilization of ionic liquids provides a novel and a feasible way to regulate the adsorption I/O ratio on an adsorbent or a solid catalyst.
