Understanding Zeolites Catalyzed Methanol‐to‐Olefins Conversion from Theoretical Calculations

Chuanming Wang; Yangdong Wang; Zaiku Xie

Index: 10.1002/cjoc.201800040

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Abstract

Zeolites catalyzed methanol‐to‐olefins (MTO) conversion provides an alternative process to produce light olefins such as ethene and propene from nonpetroleum resources. Despite of successful industrialization of the MTO process, its detailed reaction mechanism is not yet well understood. Here we summarize our work on the hydrocarbon pool reaction mechanism based on theoretical calculations. We proposed that the olefins themselves are likely to be the dominating hydrocarbon pool species, and the distribution of cracking precursors and diffusion constraints affect the selectivity. The similarities between aromatic‐based and olefin‐based cycles are highlighted.