Study on binder of extruded mordenite catalyst for dimethyl ether carbonylation

The carbonylation of dimethyl ether (DME) to produce methyl acetate (MA) and the hydrogenation of MA to ethanol is a novel, green and economical ethanol synthesis route. The formation of the catalyst is of great significance to the industrialization of this process. In this paper, pseudo-boehmite and silica sol are used as binders, and mordenite molecular sieve (MOR) is extruded to prepare a series of molded MOR catalysts with different binder types and contents. By using strength evaluation and Weibull distribution analysis, we investigated the mechanical stability and reliability of the extruded MOR. Afterwards, XRD, N₂-physisorption, NH₃-TPD and IR spectra of pyridine adsorption were employed to explore the influence of binder on textural properties, acidity and catalytic performance. The results showed that the crystal structure of MOR was maintained after addition of binder. When the pseudo-boehmite was used as a binder, the catalyst showed the best mechanical property and catalytic activity. By establishing the quantitative relationships among the yield, TOF and structure parameter, it is found that the space time yield of MA was linearly related to the specific surface area of micropores. Meanwhile, the almost constant TOF indicated that the binders did not affect the catalytic capacity of each activesites in MOR for carbonylation of dimethyl ether.