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 H-2, 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 x 10(-4) mol g(-1 )s(-1) and 8.00 x 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-Al2Cl4(1:2)30/SBA-15.