Pa. Parikh et al., KINETICS OF ZEOLITE-CATALYZED TOLUENE ISOPROPYLATION, Chemical engineering journal and the biochemical engineering journal, 54(2), 1994, pp. 79-85
The isopropylation of toluene to cymene was studied over medium-pore z
eolite ZSM-5. The influence of the operating parameters on the product
distribution was studied and a reaction mechanism already established
was used to develop a kinetic model. At temperatures above 548 K nega
tive apparent activation energies were obtained which were ascribed to
the increased diffusion resistances at higher temperatures. Apparent
activation energies were corrected to intrinsic activation energies by
taking into account the heats of adsorption and the activation energy
for diffusion.