Insight into the Dual Cycle Mechanism of Methanol-to-Olefins Reaction over SAPO-34 Molecular Sieve by Isotopic Tracer Studies

Methanol-to-olefins(MTO) reaction is one of the important non-petroleum routes to produce light olefins over acidic molecular sieves. In this study, the complete reaction course of MTO on SAPO-34 molecular sieve with retained organics evolution from induction period to deactivation period was investigated systematically at different weight hourly space velocities(WHSV) of methanol. By the aid of(12)C/C-13-methanol isotopic switch experiment, the dual cycle mechanism involving aromatics-based cycle and alkenes-based cycle was evaluated during the whole reaction process. The detailed reaction route varied with the evolution of the retained organics in the catalyst at different reaction stages. The aromatics-based cycle and alkenes-based cycle alternately dominate the reaction process. In the efficient reaction period, aromatics-based cycle is the main reaction mechanism, while in the induction and deactivation periods, the contribution of alkenes-based cycle mechanism will become more important.