Applied Catalysis A: General, Vol.210, No.1-2, 339-344, 2001
Effects of acid strength and micro pore size on epsilon-caprolactam selectivity and catalyst deactivation in vapor phase Beckmann rearrangement over acid solid catalysts
The vapor phase Beckmann rearrangement of cyclohexanone oxime (CHO) over solid acid catalysts including zeolites was carried our to elucidate the effects of the acid strength and the micropore size of the catalysts on the selectivity of E-caprolactam (CL) and the catalyst deactivation rate. It was found that the catalyst deactivation rate was strongly dependent on the acid strength of the acid catalysts. The improvement of catalyst life was achieved by using MFI-type metallosilicates having weak acid sites. The CL selectivity decreased over the acid catalysts with micropores larger than those of the MFI zeolites. Furthermore, using methanol and carbon dioxide as the diluent solvent and diluent gas improved CL selectivity and catalyst life, respectively.
Keywords:Beckmann rearrangement;solid acid catalyst;micropore size;acid strength;catalyst deactivation