Oligomerization of butene mixture over NiO/mesoporous aluminosilicate catalyst

This study is aimed at preparing C₈–C₁₆ alkene through oligomerization of a butene mixture using nickel oxide supported on mesoporous aluminosilicate. Mesoporous aluminosilicate with an ordered structure was successfully synthesized from HZSM-5 zeolite by combining a top-down and a bottom-up method. MMZ_ZSM-5 catalyst showed much higher butene conversion and C₈–C₁₆ yield in the butene oligomerization reaction than those with HZSM-5. This is attributed to the pore geometry of MMZ_ZSM-5, which is more beneficial for internal diffusion of reactants, reaction intermediates, and products. The ordered channel-like mesopores were maintained after the nickel-loading on MMZ_ZSM-5. The yield for C₈–C₁₆ hydrocarbons over NiO/MMZ_ZSM-5 was higher than that of MMZ_ZSM-5 catalyst, which seemed to be due to higher acid strength from a higher ratio of Lewis acid to Brønsted acid. The present study reveals that a mesoporous NiO/MMZ_ZSM-5 catalyst with a large amount of Lewis acid sites is one of the potential catalysts for efficient generation of aviation fuel through the butene oligomerization.