Selective Ring Opening of Methylcyclopentane and Methylcyclohexane Over Iridium Bifunctional Catalysts Supported on Surface Modified γ-Al2O3, SiO2 and Ultra Stable Y Zeolites​

Selective ring opening of methylcyclopentane (MCP) and methylcyclohexane (MCH) over a series of Iridium catalysts supported on γ-alumina, silica and ultra-stable Y (USY) zeolites was investigated. The acid density of the supports was modified by co impregnation of potassium in small quantities and its effect on conversion, yield and selectivity was evaluated. USY zeolites showed 26.9–38.1 and 27.5–33.7% of conversion with ring opening selectivities between 56.4–63.8 and 94.3–97.7% for MCP and MCH, respectively. Whereas on silica, the conversions were 10.7–16.6 and 10.4–14.0% with 96.9–99.0 and 93.3–99.1% selectivity. Interestingly, potassium acted as a promoter in case of USY zeolites while suppressed of activity of Ir supported on γ-alumina and silica. The reaction conditions such as temperature, pressure, contact time and the feed/catalyst ratio were optimized. The …​