Deactivation mechanism of beta-zeolite catalyst for synthesis of cumene by benzene alkylation with isopropanol

The alkylation of benzene with isopropanol over beta-zeolite is a more cost-effective solution to cumene production. During the benzene alkylation cycles, the cumene selectivity slowly increased, while the benzene conversion presented the sharp decrease due to catalyst deactivation. The deactivation mechanism of beta-zeolite catalyst was investigated by characterizing the fresh and used catalysts. The XRD, SEM and TEM results show that the crystalline and particle size of the beta-zeolite catalyst almost remained stable during the alkylation cycles. The drop in catalytic activity and benzene conversion could be explained by the TG, BET, NH₃-TPD and GC–MS results. The organic matters mainly consisted of ethylbenzene, p-xylene and 1-ethyl-3-(1-methyl) benzene produced in the benzene alkylation deposited in the catalyst, which strongly reduced the specific surface area of beta-zeolite catalyst. Moreover, during the reaction cycles, the amount of acidity also significantly decreased. As a result, the catalyst deactivation occurred. To maintain the catalytic performance, the catalyst regeneration was carried out by using ethanol rinse and calcination. The deactivated catalyst could be effectively regenerated by the calcination method and the good catalytic performance was obtained.