ISSN 1017-2548(Print)
ISSN 2234-8530(Online)
Volume 20, Number 6
JKCSEZ 20(6)
December 20, 1976 

Clinoptilolite zeolite samples were treated with hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid and phosphoric acid of different strength and the adsorption characteristics and crystal structures of the original and acid-treated clinoptilolites were studied. By treating with hydrochloric acid, the adsorbed amount increased to 5-fold for nitrogen, to 3-fold for benzene, but for methanol no significant change was observed. As acid strength increased further, there were declines both in adsorption capacity and crystallinity. The results showed that the increase of adsorbed amount was caused by the rearrangement of the pore entrance and cation exchange. A method for determination of clinoptilolite content in natural mineral based on benzene adsorption on acid-treated sample is proposed. By this method, the original sample used in this study was found to contain approximately 40% of clinoptilolite. Using pulse technique in micro-catalytic reactor system, the catalytic activities of hydrochloric acid-treated clinoptilolites in cumene cracking and toluene disproportionation reactions were measured. For cumene cracking reaction, the maximum conversion was observed for the 0.5 N hydrochloric acid-treated sample. It is instructive to note that the maximum benzene adsorption was also observed for the sample treated with 0.5 N HCl. This suggest that the conversion rate was determined mainly by the rate of transport of reactants and the products through the pore structure. In the toluene disproportionation reaction, the same trend was observed. But the rate of deactivation was high for samples with strong acid sites. Since catalyst having higher activity was deactivated more easily, the conversion maximum was shifted to the sample treated with higher concentration of acid, -1N. The catalytic activity of Ca2+ and La3+ ion exchanged samples for the toluene disproportion was much lower than that of acid-treated samples. Introduction of Ca2+ and La3+ into the pore structure apparently decreases the effective pore diameter of acid-treated clinoptilolite thus limiting the diffusion of reactants and products.