“…spectroscopic techniques such as Raman, X-ray, FTIR and NMR, are applied under real operating reaction medium and conditions allowing for identifying unstable intermediates providing thus more insightful information between the catalyst state and the reaction kinetics. 15 The deactivation of sulfonated IER can proceed through several mechanisms: neutralization, desulfonation, deposition (fouling) and decrosslinking of the polymer matrix, 16 being neutralization the major cause of activity decay in industrial etherification reactors. In this mechanism, active sites are progressively neutralized on stream by base compounds present in the olefinic streams from fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units through either plug flow or diffused flow neutralization.…”