Synthesis and Catalytic Performances Evaluation of FER-Based Catalysts with Different Acidity in Methanol Conversion to DME

In this work the effect of acidity on catalytic performances of zeolitic catalysts with FER structure in methanol dehydration reaction for DME production is presented. Synthesis condition are tuned in order to obtain a Si/Al ratio in the range of 7–47.NH₃-TPD and FT-IR measurements show that aluminum content affect both aluminum incorporation and both strength and distribution of acid sites. Catalytic evaluation suggest that acidity affect methanol conversion while all catalysts exhibit a very high selectivity toward DME suggesting FER structure as a reliable catalyst for DME production.