The activity of the H-ZSM-5 was modified by the addition of Ca, Mn, Cr, Fe, Ni, Ag, Ce and P. The highest selectivity of propylene was obtained over the Mn/H-ZSM-5 catalyst. The Mn modified catalyst was selected as the optimal catalyst and the kinetic study was carried out on it. All of the experiments were carried out in an isothermal fixed bed and plug flow reactor with the mixture of methanol and water. The temperature range was 400–550 °C and the weight hourly space velocities (WHSV) of methanol were: 2.51, 5.42, and 8.17 h–1. A reaction mechanism based on the theory of hydrocarbon pool and conjugate methylation/cracking mechanisms was proposed. The behavior of the reactor was mathematically modeled and the hybrid genetic algorithm was applied to estimate kinetic parameters. Good agreement was observed between the experimental and the calculated data. Effect of temperature on propylene selectivity was also investigated. It was found that the propylene selectivity steadily increases with temperature.
