Effects of Deep Eutectic Solvents on H2SO4-catalyzed Alkylation:
Combining Experiment and Molecular Dynamics Simulation
Abstract
To enhance the catalytic performance of H2SO4-catalyzed alkylation,
various catalytic additives have drawn considerable attention. Herein,
the effects of deep eutectic solvents additives (DESs) on catalytic
performance and interfacial properties of H2SO4 alkylation were
systematically investigated using experimental methods and molecular
dynamics (MD) simulation. Experimental results indicate that DESs
additives with the optimal concentration about 1.0 wt% can efficiently
improve C8 selectivity and research octane number (RON) of alkylate.
However, DESs additives contribute less to the quality of alkylate at
low temperature and to the lifetime of H2SO4. MD results reveal that the
phenyl molecules of DESs additives play a major role in enhancing
interfacial properties of H2SO4 alkylation, including enlargement of
interfacial thickness, promotion of isobutane relative solubility and
diffusion to butene, which is probably the main reason for the better
quality of alkylate. This work gives a good guideline for the design of
novel DESs for H2SO4 alkylation.