Rare earth variation changes the behavior of Y zeolite in Fluid Cracking Catalyst (FCC), with regard to their response to hydrothermal deactivation and contaminant metals during FCCU operation. The rare earth content primarily determines the rate of dealumination which then leads to different degree of mesoporosity in zeolite structure. The rate of dealumination dictates the equilibrium unit cell size, which strongly correlates with the rates of hydrogen-transfer reactions, which in turn, have an impact on catalyst deactivation by coke formation. The degree of dealumination, mesoporosity and coke-on-catalyst level significantly affect the diffusion of the feed molecules into the zeolite and the residence time of the products in the zeolite, which then strongly influence the activity, olefinicity and the selectivity of the intermediate cracking products, such as LPG and gasoline. Hence the possibility of enhancing the mesoporosity of Y zeolite was further investigated that can significantly reduce the deficiencies in selectivity (lower olefinicity, higher bottoms yield) for high cell size catalyst.

Understanding mesoporosity in Y zeolite and its application in fluid catalytic cracking

248th National Meeting (2014)

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