Catalytic Conversion of Chloromethane to Methane and Propane on SiO2/Al2O3: Kinetics of Deactivation Caused by Coking

Chloromethane was catalytically converted into methane and propane in a fixed-bed reactor with control of pressure and flow rates. The deactivation by coking was studied in a microadsorber equipped with gravimetric monitoring. In this study, two models are proposed: the first one proposes that product production competes with coke formation; and the other one proposes that coke formation competes with product desorption. Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters were estimated. Results showed that chloromethane is activated by silica-alumina but the products are usually high molecular weight hydrocarbons, which are broken down by acid sites to produce compounds like methane and propane.