Mobil Zeolite Catalysts for Monomers

It has been about 20 years since Plank, Rosinski, and Hawthorne reported their spectacular results with metal-modified zeolite cracking catalysts for more efficient production of gasoline [1]. This discovery has saved an estimated 200 million barrels of crude oil each year in the United States alone [2]. In 1972, a patent by Argauer and Landolt described the preparation of a member of a generation of new synthetic zeolites, called ZSM- 5. It was unique because of its high silica/alumina ratio and greatly reduced coking rates for reactions with hydrocarbons by comparison with known low silica zeolites [3]. This material was an early member of a series of over 50 synthetic zeolitic substances prepared in Mobil laboratories.