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Renewable p ‐Xylene from 2,5‐Dimethylfuran and Ethylene Using Phosphorus‐Containing Zeolite Catalysts
Author(s) -
Cho Hong Je,
Ren Limin,
Vattipalli Vivek,
Yeh YuHao,
Gould Nicholas,
Xu Bingjun,
Gorte Raymond J.,
Lobo Raul,
Dauenhauer Paul J.,
Tsapatsis Michael,
Fan Wei
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
chemcatchem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.497
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1867-3899
pISSN - 1867-3880
DOI - 10.1002/cctc.201601294
Subject(s) - chemistry , commodity chemicals , organic chemistry , catalysis , xylene , p xylene , zeolite , ethylene , furan , toluene
p ‐Xylene is a major commodity chemical used for the production of polyethylene terephthalate, a polymer with applications in polyester fibers, films, and bottles. The Diels–Alder cycloaddition of 2,5‐dimethylfuran and ethylene and the subsequent dehydration of the cycloadduct intermediate is an attractive reaction pathway to produce renewable p ‐xylene from biomass feedstocks. However, the highest yields reported previously do not exceed 75 %. We report that P‐containing zeolite Beta is an active, stable, and selective catalyst for this reaction with an unprecedented p ‐xylene yield of 97 %. It can catalyze the dehydration reaction selectively from the furan‐ethylene cycloadduct to p ‐xylene without the production of alkylated and oligomerized products. This behavior is distinct from that of Al‐containing zeolites and other solid phosphoric acid catalysts and establishes a commercially attractive process for renewable p ‐xylene production.