Iron exchanged ZSM-5 with Si/Al ratio from 25 to 300 prepared by three consecutive ion exchanges was used for the dehydration of ethanol to ethylene.The iron exchanged ZSM-5（Si/Al=25） catalyst with an iron content of 0.46 wt%gave 97%-99%yield of ethylene at 98%-99%conversion of ethanol at 260℃ and 0.81 h^-1 liquid hourly space velocity.The high performance was maintained for60 d on-stream.X-ray diffraction,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of pyridine adsorption,NH3 temperature-programmed desorption and diffuse reflectance UV-vis spectroscopy were used for catalyst characterization.Ion exchange with iron decreased the total acidity of the zeolite,especially the strong acid sites and Bronsted acid sites.The doped iron species were distributed over Fe-ZSM-5 as predominantly isolated Fe^3＋.Therefore,the catalytic performance for ethanol dehydration to ethylene was improved.
