Catalytic Isomerization of Xylenes

Abstract

The catalytic isomerizations of o-, m-and p-xylene as well as ethylbenzene with silica-alumina catalyst were studied at 500°C. in the presence of steam, the total reaction pressure being kept at 1 atm. The isomerizations always accompanied dispropotionations and crackings. From the experimental data, general formulas of velocity constants of these reactions were derived, according to Langmuir-Hinshelwood's mechanism.
The experiments in the long runs were conducted with xylene mixtures composed of the above four isomers of various proportion at 500°, 515°, and 530°C., and those results were also analyzed by approximation.