Catalysis Today, Vol.93-95, 457-465, 2004
Comparison of hydrogenation and mild hydrocracking activities of Pt-supported catalysts
Six Pt-supported catalysts based on mordenite, pillared clay, delaminated clay and Al-MCM41 were tested for hydrogenation and mild hydrocracking activities in processing a middle distillate derived from Canadian oil sands. Experiments were performed in a fixed-bed microreactor between 260 and 380degreesC, at a total pressure of 10.3 MPa and a LHSV of 1.0 h(-1). The results showed that, except for the untreated mordenite based catalyst, the other catalysts all had suitable pore structures to accommodate molecules as large as three-ring cycloparaffins and to convert them into smaller molecules. Dealumination made mordenite a better mild hydrocracking catalyst due to the creation of mesopores and macropores, and the reduction of surface acidity. At 320degreesC, pillared clay based catalysts had the highest hydrogenation activity followed by Al-MCM41, delaminated clay and mordenite based catalysts. Delaminated clay based catalyst, despite producing the highest diesel yield at the same conversion of 343 degreesC(+) fraction, required the highest reaction temperatures. Thus, Pt/pillared clay and Pt/Al-MCM41 were the best overall catalysts, producing high aromatic conversion, high diesel yield and relatively low reaction temperature to reach 30% conversion of 343 degreesC(+) fraction. Crown Copyright (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.