DOI: https://doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.20604

Modification of HZSM-5 with Phosphotungstate, Silver, and Cobalt to Enhance Catalytic Reaction of Bioethanol to Bioethylene

1Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Grafika No. 2 Kampus UGM, 55281 Yogyakarta, Indonesia

2Sekolah Tinggi Teknologi Bontang, Jl. S. Parman No. 65, Belimbing, 75321 Bontang, Kalimantan Timur, Indonesia

3PT Harapan Interaksi Swadaya (Greeenhope), Jl. Raya Serang KM 13, Kawasan Bumindo Bitung Jaya, Cikupa, 15710 Tangerang, Indonesia

Received: 13 Dec 2025; Revised: 1 Feb 2026; Accepted: 2 Feb 2026; Available online: 7 Feb 2026; Published: 30 Aug 2026.
Editor(s): Istadi Istadi
Open Access Copyright (c) 2026 by Authors, Published by BCREC Publishing Group
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Abstract

Developing an optimal catalyst formulation is a critical challenge in expanding sustainable ethylene production and utilization as a chemical intermediate product. Metal oxide impregnation (silver nitrate (AgNO3), cobalt nitrate (Co(NO3)2), and phosphotungstic acid (H3PW12O40)) was used to enhance the catalytic performance of HZSM-5 by increasing active sites and acidity. The preparation of the catalyst was performed by the impregnation of various metals and amounts of loading particles inside the pores of HZSM-5. The particles were impregnated by incipient wetness impregnation and followed by calcination to obtain Ag/HZSM-5, Co/HZSM-5, and W/HZSM-5 catalysts. Characterization techniques, including N2 adsorption-desorption, SEM, and XRD, were used to analyze the catalyst properties. Catalytic performance was evaluated in a packed-bed reactor under varying reaction conditions at WHSV 1.8 h-1. The aim of this research is to identify optimal catalyst formulations that exhibit superior activity in both conversion and selectivity towards ethylene production. Modified HZSM-5 catalysts incorporating Ag, Co, and W exhibited enhanced catalytic performance for bioethanol dehydration to bioethylene, attributed to optimized acidic sites, pore structure, and metal synergy. The 1%W/HZSM-5 catalyst demonstrated superior ethylene conversion (98.2%) and selectivity (99.88%) at 300 ℃. Increasing tungsten loading up to 2% impacted the conversion of bioethanol. Copyright © 2026 by Authors, Published by BCREC Publishing Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

Keywords: Alcohol Dehydration; HZSM-5; Metal Oxide Modification; Bio-based Hydrocarbon
Funding: PT Harapan Interaksi Swadaya (Greenhope) under contract (Grant No. 1942304/UN1/FTK/LKFT/HK.08.00/2024)

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Section: Original Research Articles
Language : EN
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