IMPROVED CATALYSTS FOR HEAVY OIL UPGRADING BASED ON ZEOLITE Y NANOPARTICLES ENCAPSULATED STABLE NANOPOROUS HOST

摘要

Al-SBA-15 mesoporous catalysts with strong Broensted acid sites and Al stabilized in a totally tetrahedral coordination was synthesized from the addition of hydrothermally aged zeolite Y precursor to SBA-15 synthesis mixture under mildly acidic condition of pH 5.5. The materials possessed surface areas between 690 and 850 m{sup 2}/g, pore sizes ranging from 5.6 to 7.5 nm and pore volumes up 1.03 cm{sup 3}, which were comparable to parent SBA-15 synthesized under similar conditions. Up to 2 wt. % Al was present in the most aluminated sample that was investigated, and the Al remained stable in totally tetrahedral coordination, even after calcination at 550 C. The Al-SBA-15 mesoporous catalyst showed significant catalytic activity for cumene dealkylation, and activity increased as the amount of zeolite precursor added to the SBA-15 mixture was increased. The catalyst's activity was not affected by the aging time of the precursor for up to the 24 hr aging time investigated. This method of introducing Al and maintaining it in a total tetrahedral coordination is very effective, in comparison to other direct and post synthesis alumination methods reported. The catalytic performance of the zeolite Y/SBA-15 composite materials will be compared with that of pure SBA-15. The catalysts will then be evaluated for the conversion of heavy petroleum feedstocks.