Title: Reactions between Steam and Alkylbenzenes on the Ni-BeO Catalyst
Abstract: Experimental works on the reaction between steam and alkylbenzenes, namely, toluene, o-xylene, m-xylene, p-xylene, ethylbenzene or cumene, on the Ni-BeO catalyst have been carried out under the following conditions: temperature 450°C, pressure 1atm, space velocity 3, 500-3, 000hr-1, steam/alkylbenzene_??_8-7 (mole ratio).According to the experimental results, the catalytic activity for m-xylene, p-xylene, ethylbenzene and for cumene were nearly equal, and the activity for o-xylene was nearly equal to that for toluene. The benzene content in liquid products was found to be the largest from ethylbenzene, followed by cumene, o-xylene, p-xylene, and m-xylene, in the order of benzene content. It was demonstrated that the degree of breaking of the benzene ring was very small for all of the reactants under the reaction condition.Based upon the results of the activity test, it was suggested that the benzene formation from ethylbenzene, cumene or o-xylene would proceed in parallel with the toluene formation, whereas the benzene formation from m-xylene or p-xylene would be subsequent to the toluene formation.