The application of INS to investigate the isomerization of xylene in zeolites (TOSCA)

The global demand for p-xylene production is significant, totalling 37 Mt in 2014. Following on from a recent initiative to use neutron scattering to investigate a single class of ZSM-5 catalyst for the methanol-to-hydrocarbon reaction, a new academic/industrial project is now looking at the application of different classes of ZSM-5 catalysts for the formation of p-xylene. This proposal seeks to use TOSCA to characterise molecular entities retained by the catalyst as a function of reaction temperature. The resulting profile will provide information on the deactivation characteristics of a new industrial grade ZSM-5 sample active for p-xylene formation. This TOSCA application is linked to associated MAPS and QENS proposals.