Study on methane aromatization over MoO3/HMCM-49 catalyst

Nanosize MCM-49 zeolite was synthesized by the hydrothermal method, and it was used as the support of MoO3/zeolite catalysts for methane aromatization in the absence of oxidant under various reaction conditions. After the preparation method of catalysts and reaction conditions were optimized, high benzene selectivity of around 90% were obtained with a yield of more than 10% at 973 K over the 6 wt.% Mo/HMCM-49 catalyst and the catalyst can keep the activity for more than 150 h through several simple calcination in air to remove carbon deposition for reactivation. Compared to Mo/HZSM-5 catalysts, Mo/HMCM-49 is easier to prepare and more effective. We considered that the excellent catalytic performance of Mo/HMCM-49 catalyst for methane aromatization profits from the especial MWW type pore structure of MCM-49 zeolite in part.