Isomerization of Alkanes over Ionic Liquids Supported on SBA-15

Exploring the catalytic efficiency of ionic liquid supported on mesoporous material as heterogeneous organ catalysts for example, 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium triflate and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride + AlCl3 (different ratio) immobilized on SBA-15 that contains 0.5% platinum, with regard to isomerization of n-pentane and n-hexane, along with commercial light naphtha feed conversion reactions. The prepared materials were characterized by several instrumental methods, which include temperature-programmed desorption to evaluate acid strength. The reactions were performed in a fixed-bed stainless steel reactor having high pressure by the down-flow method. This valuable novel isomerization reaction was strongly influenced by many key parameters, for instance, temperature, pressure, weight hourly space velocity, and flow rate of H2, which are discussed in detail. The Pt/EMIM-AlCl4(1:1)20/SBA-15 ionic liquid catalyst showed superior catalytic performance out of the four-catalyst system examined toward the above reactions, which is undoubtedly due to its significant turnover frequencies values of 8.6 s-1 and 8.5 s-1 and specific reaction rates values of 8.01 × 10-4 mol g-1 s-1 and 8.00 × 10-4 mol g-1 s-1 for n-pentane and n-hexane correspondingly. The order of catalytic activity is Pt/EMIM-AlCl4(1:1)20/SBA-15 > Pt-EMIM-Tf/SBA-15 > Pt/EMIM-Al2Cl7(1:2)20/SBA-15 > Pt-EMIM-Al2Cl7(1:2)30/SBA-15.