Hydrocracking of heavy oil using zeolites Y/Al-SBA-15 composites as catalyst supports

作者:Zhang Xuejun*; Zhang Fuqiang; Yan Xuewu; Zhang Zhihua; Sun Famin; Wang Zongxian; Zhao Dongyuan
来源:Journal of Porous Materials, 2008, 15(2): 145-150.
DOI:10.1007/s10934-007-9114-6

摘要

A series of Y/Al-SBA-15 composites were prepared by a two-step synthesis procedure in mild acidic medium. The materials were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), N-2 sorption isotherms and TEM techniques. Catalytic cracking of cumene and 1,3,5-tri-isopropylbenzene was carried out as the probing reactions on these composites. The XRD results showed that these materials are composites of Al-SBA-15 and Y zeolite. N-2 sorption isotherms and TEM displayed that these composites were abundant in micropores and mesopores. At the same time, the mesopores may communicate with the micropores in some domains, which may result in the high catalytic activities of Y/Al-SBA-15 composites for the cracking of both small-molecule (cumene) and large-molecule (1,3,5-tri-isopropylbenzene) hydrocarbons. The existence of mesopores may also make the acid sites easily accessible for reactants. Catalysts of W-Ni supported on Y/Al-SBA-15 and modified Y zeolites with mesopores were prepared by impregnation method, and the hydrocracking of heavy oil was performed on these catalysts. The catalyst using zeolite Y/mesoporous Al-SBA-15 composites as support gave higher yield of diesel compared to the catalysts using modified zeolite Y as support. In addition, the higher aromatics potential of heavy naphtha and the significantly lower BMCI (U.S. Bureau of Correlation Index) of tail oil revealed Y/Al-SBA-15 composite catalyst possessed integrated performance in the hydrocracking of heavy oil. These results proved that the combination of Y zeolites and mesoporous Al-SBA-15 plays a great role in improving the performance of catalysts for hydrocracking heavy oils.