Patent ID: 7982080

Claim:
A process for converting a low carbon number aliphatic hydrocarbon to higher hydrocarbons including aromatic hydrocarbons, the process comprising contacting a feed containing said aliphatic hydrocarbon with a dehydrocyclization catalyst under conditions effective to convert said aliphatic hydrocarbon to aromatic hydrocarbons and produce an effluent stream comprising aromatic hydrocarbons and hydrogen, wherein said dehydrocyclization catalyst comprises at least one metal, said metal selected from at least one of molybdenum, rhenium, and tungsten, and a molecular sieve comprising ZSM-5 and wherein the ratio of the amount of any Bronsted acid sites in the molecular sieve to the amount of said at least one metal is less than 0.1 mol/mol of said at least one metal, including a step, prior to said contacting step, of pretreating said catalyst to reduce the number of said Bronsted acid sites in said molecular sieve, wherein said pretreatment to reduce the number of said Bronsted acid sites comprises heating said catalyst in the presence of a gas comprising hydrogen and optionally at least one low carbon number aliphatic hydrocarbon.