Rapid and efficient synthesis of highly crystalline SSZ-13 zeolite by applying high shear mixing in the aging process

Abstract For SSZ-13 zeolite, long crystallization time leads to high synthesis cost that obstruct its industrial application. In this work, a new synthesis method with applying high shear mixing (HSM) in the aging process was adopted to rapidly and efficiently synthesize highly crystalline SSZ-13 zeolite. For comparison, the samples aged by the conventional mechanical stirring (CMS) were also prepared. The results showed that SSZ-13 zeolite aged by HSM had a shorter crystallization time (shortened by 48 h). Due to the strong shear force generated by HSM, the heat and mass transfer rates were enhanced, so that the nucleation and crystallization rates of the SSZ-13 zeolite were accelerated. At the same time, it was found that different aging methods led to SSZ-13 zeolite following different growth mechanisms. In addition, SSZ-13 zeolite aged by HSM had smaller particle size, larger BET surface area and lower Si/Al ratio.