Valorisation of 2,5-dimethylfuran over zeolite catalysts studied by on-line FTIR-MS gas phase analysis

Abstract

The valorisation of 2,5-dimethylfuran (2,5-dmf) by catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) was studied by on-line FTIR-MS gas phase analysis. Zeolite beta, H-ZSM-5 and Cu-ZSM-5 were characterised and used as catalysts. The on-line analysis enables sufficient time resolution to follow subminute transient phenomena, e.g., the impact of catalyst pretreatment and time on stream (TOS) on the reaction selectivity. The results show, that the initial selectivity towards benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX) aromatics is high but decreases with TOS while the isomerisation rates of 2,5-dmf towards 2,4-dimethylfuran and cyclic ketones increase. This indicates the involvement of specific active sites for the different conversion processes. The formation of BTX compounds is linked to the availability of specific olefins, as supported by temperature programmed desorption experiments, which is indicative of aromatisation stemming directly from the olefin pool rather than via Diels-Alder reactions.